Darker than Night
by The Lightning Phoenix
Summary: In an effort to recover from the distressing terms of Stoick's death, Toothless is faced with a series of events that profoundly confront and impact him, such as two Night Furies in far worse condition than him. But not the secretive and eccentric young male with afflictions, nor the female with a nightmarish past, could amount to an enemy threatening the genocide of Night Furies.
1. Prologue

**Darker than Night**

_Prologue_

* * *

**A/N**

**First and foremost, this is a warning to new readers. Until I have the time to edit, most of this story is written well below my own (current) standards, and as such will not appear to be worth much of your time. But if you bear this in mind and read on, you'll find the story and technicalities refining as you go. **

**Until then, please enjoy. "Berq" is on purpose. I am not illiterate. Only eccentric. **

* * *

A loud fear-instilled roar pierced the cold night air, disrupting the previously-peaceful inhabitants of Berq from their slumber. Townspeople awoke, babies began to cry, and torches began to be lit as the people slowly trekked up to the chieftain's house; the house of the accused disruption.

Inside the house a large body of black was covered with beads of cold sweat, emerald eyes dilated and limbs curled up in a defensive posture. It was shuddering in fear, almost hyperventilating, and tears slowly began to form in the corners of the fear-glazed emeralds.

"There, there, Toothless. It's ok bud, calm down," a voice said. The voice continued as the person whom it belonged to slowly moved next to the cowering Night Fury. "Another nightmare again?" he asked as he leaned upon the black mass, giving him comfort.

"You're ok now..." Hiccup slowly trailed off when he heard the banging at the door... the banging that seemed never to cease every night.

He then turned to Toothless, and noticed the dragon sleeping peacefully once more thanks to his comforting presence. He smiled before getting up and walking through the house to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it.

"Hiccup... this has got to stop," was the first thing he heard as others chorused in agreement. "We can't keep living like this, some of us have children to support!" another cried out.

And so the conversation ended much like it had the countless nights before.

_"I promise it'll stop, I'll find a way to fix it. Good night."_

They would all walk away, some with scowls, before returning the very next night to be unsatisfied with Hiccup's answer.

However that night it was different.

Valka was there, standing behind the crowd, a concerned look on her face.

* * *

"Hiccup, this is serious," Valka said as she sat down on the opposite side of the table, an expression on her face not one she'd ever normally bestow.

"Why, mother? Surely you've found a way to fix this by now?" Hiccup asked, the most experienced dragon trainer he knew.

"I have," she said simply, "but you're not going to like it."

Hiccup sat on the edge of his chair, a frown already apparent on his face. He knew he wasn't going to like it, knowing his mother wouldn't say such a thing without reason, but he didn't have to like it. It just had to work.

"I'm all ears for anything that'll help because it doesn't matter about me or my opinion," Hiccup exclaimed profoundly as he looked over to the peacefully sleeping dragon by his window, "all that matters is that it helps him."

Valka smiled, happily impressed by her son's resolve. However, it quickly dissipated. She didn't have the luxury to smile in the dire situation, so her face remained stoic.

"Alright then. Let me give you a run-down of the situation," Valka began, taking a deep breath. "Toothless has been waking in the night with a cold sweat, roaring and carrying on, right?" she asked, and Hiccup nodded. "I know you've tried to hide it from me, but I also know about the scar you now bear on your back," she added and Hiccup froze.

__How did she find out?__

"Astrid told me," Valka stated calmly as if she read his mind. "She said she was concerned about this whole ordeal and wants to help Toothless as much as you or I."

Hiccup sighed. "I guess it can't be helped, but it's not Toothless' fault-"

"-Of course not dear!" Valka exclaimed, making a point that she would never think that. "Look, the point is, Toothless is having some sort of bad dreams or visions from the whole ordeal with Drago. I assume that when he struck out at you, he was blinded by his fear and was indeed seeing a vision of something. He struck you when you woke him, didn't he?" she then asked.

Hiccup could only nod as his arms moved around to his back and he touched the small mounds alongside the deep cuts. "I agree with you," Hiccup said. "I think it's got to do with what happened and I've noted he's become a lot more withdrawn and doesn't seem to express much anymore."

"It's entirely possible that when he was being controlled by the alpha… when he killed Stoick… that he saw your face when you told him to leave and go away," Valka continued and Hiccup nodded, the pieces coming before him.

Of course, it wasn't Toothless' fault that Stoick was killed, but at the time Hiccup's judgment was clouded and he lashed out angrily at Toothless, telling him to leave him alone and to get away. That could have severely damaged Toothless on a mental level, but that was why Valka was there. She had a plan to help.

Hiccup wiped the tears from his eyes and looked to Valka. "Tell me what you know and how you can help Toothless…"

* * *

As Toothless laid in the darkness, listening to their plan, he realised that he was indeed becoming more detrimental than ever. What would happen if he was blinded by his visions again, and killed someone? The village wouldn't be able to forgive him, and despite all that he'd done, he would still be considered _broken._However, this plan was something that put a smile on his face, despite the tears that rolled down it. He knew it probably wouldn't amount to anything, but he could no longer stay on Berq.

__Perhaps this is for the best... __Toothless thought.

* * *

"Cloudjumper."

The large four-winged dragon turned to the sound of the soft voice beside him with a smile. "Hey Toothless, how are you?"

"I'm sure you already know the answer to that…" the black dragon trailed off with a sigh. In fact, all of the dragons would know about his outbursts, but none of them came to ask or do anything. He was the Alpha, he could take care of his own problems. Despite being the most kindred Alpha the other dragons ever had, he was still responsible for himself.

"Now, don't pull yourself down. You went through a traumatic experience for the sake of someone you cared about," Cloudjumper soothed, trying to cheer Toothless up. "I'm sure we can work this out-"

"-You're the Alpha now, Cloudjumper," Toothless stated, and suddenly he felt something lift off his shoulders. That statement and the will that was behind it made it a reality. Toothless had transferred his Alpha status to Cloudjumper.

"W-What!? But you're the only one who can…" Cloudjumper trailed off as he felt the power of an Alpha reside within him. He really was the Alpha. "Why, Toothless?" was all the shocked dragon could ask.

"I cannot be Alpha unless I've rid myself of my problems, Cloudjumper," Toothless replied solemnly. "And I'm leaving."

* * *

_The night before decided his fate._

__"Is that really our only option?" Hiccup asked, ____completely distraught.__

__Valka sighed before she nodded and replied, "I'm sorry Hiccup. Through all my time in the company of dragons, I cannot foresee any other option that will end well."__

__Hiccup took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'll go talk to him."__

__Hiccup then walked over to the "sleeping" form of Toothless ____and____ Valka thought it best she took her leave, out of respect.____ She turned from the door just as she was about to leave, and gave a parting message.__

__"I'll see you in the morning. ____I____t's best that we get it over with as soon as possible. The sooner he leaves, the more chance he'll be able to come back sooner."__

__Hiccup then smiled and farewelled her, then sat down next to Toothless as he heard the sound of the door shutting softly.__

__It was then that Toothless turned around and looked at his companion and friend. Hiccup smiled, unable to stop the tears from falling. "You listened the whole time, didn't you bud?"__

__Toothless didn't reply, and instead, moved forward to nuzzle Hiccup with his nose as if to say "It's OK."__

__"Thanks, bud… but not knowing where you are or if you're alright… "__

__Hiccup trailed off as he turned his head to see a bit of Toothless' humour return; ____t____he dragon raised his brow condescendingly.__

__"Well, I know you'll be fine, it's just…"__

__He trailed off again when he realised what he was doing. He didn't have to worry; Toothless was going to sort things out by himself; Toothless was going to find his own way by being free. Of course, Toothless was free, Hiccup would never say he owned him, but Toothless would always be restricted and unable to express himself naturally. He needed to roam the world on his own.__

__"I'll miss you bud, now get some rest. I've got work to do."__

* * *

And so, Hiccup had spent most of the night in the forge, making something he'd never thought he could. An artificial tail-fin that operated via the muscle in the tail; where the tail-fin would normally be operated from. Hiccup didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before, but knowing Toothless, the Night Fury would never accept anything; always wanting to fly with Hiccup. But the situation had changed. In all honesty, Toothless didn't think he could rid himself of his problems. He didn't think the plan was going to work, yet he went along with it anyway. Because if he stayed in Berq, he would eventually end up endangering the village; destroying and possibly hurting. That would be when they forcefully evict the dragon from the island, despite Hiccup's pleadings. Toothless didn't want that to happen, so he had decided to leave on a friendly plea.

Now it was morning, and the time had come as Hiccup approached him. Few were present, including Hiccup, Valka, Astrid, Cloudjumper and Stormfly. The sun was only just peeking over the edge of the horizon and the rest of Berq was silent.

"Toothless, I've made this for you," Hiccup said as he presented the tail-fin to him. Cloudjumper and Stormfly watched, fixated, wondering what the new tail-fin would do. They knew Toothless couldn't fly without Hiccup, but when they heard the news he was leaving_, _they didn't understand. But as they watched Hiccup fix the prosthetic on Toothless' tail, saw the dragon flex his tail as if he were flying, and watched in amazement at how the fin acted as if it were his actual fin, they realised just what the new fin was. Toothless too, watched in amazement at his friend's work, smiling a sad smile. The tail-fin had been painted precisely by Hiccup to match Toothless' black scales and camouflaged well with the rest of his body.

Despite being Alpha, Toothless didn't really have any dragon friends. Stormfly was an acquaintance at most, and Cloudjumper was more of a mentor and confidante than a friend. The other dragons wouldn't dare to have any sort of friendship with him, out of fear. Especially an _Alpha _Night Fury.

"I really appreciate your enthusiasm, but in all honesty, I don't think that I'll be able to rid myself of these ailments."

"Why not?" Cloudjumper questioned as he walked up to him, concerned. "Surely this will help, won't it?"

Toothless sighed with a frown on his face, looking to the ground. "I doubt it, but there's always a possibility..."

"Exactly," the larger dragon told him with a smile as Astrid turned to Hiccup, a question on her lips.

"What do you think they're talking about?" she asked Hiccup, who was also watching silently.

"I'd assume that they are encouraging him, possibly saying farewell at the same time," Hiccup replied softly, softly so he wouldn't alert Astrid to the growing weakness in his body. He'd become very upset over the whole deal, with the fact that Toothless being away from Hiccup would supposedly __help__ made him feel all the much worse.

Valka, seemingly reading her son's thoughts once more, moved over to comfort him. "You know that it's not being away from you that will help him, it's being free and able to roam without restraint," she said as Hiccup turned to look at her. "He hasn't been able to fly without you. I believe he just needs to make his own way for a while, and that doing so will help him."

"I know, but still I…" Hiccup couldn't find the words as he realised that he was being selfish. Why should he keep Toothless there to suffer? He shouldn't. That's the only answer. He couldn't deny Toothless from freedom for his own personal reasons. As the dragons continued their conversation, Hiccup, Astrid and Valka could only sit and watch for they couldn't understand a single word being said.

"We'll miss you here," Cloudjumper sighed with a sympathetic smile. "I do hope you'll be feeling fine soon and I'll be watching over Berq for you whilst you're gone."

"Thanks…" was all Toothless could reply, feeling drowned in his sorrow.

"Goodbye, for now, Toothless," Cloudjumper told him, turning to go back near Valka. Unlike humans, between dragons, anything physical, including embraces, were normally reserved for mates. That was why dragons always stuck to verbal goodbyes.

_Such is the lonely life of a Night Fury,_ Toothless thought with a sigh. _I wonder if Stormfly will have found a mate by the time I return? There's an abundance of Nadders. __Just... no Night Furies. _

Hiccup sighed as he moved towards Toothless and removed the saddle gear that was on him, patting and stroking him gently whilst whispering words of comfort to the black dragon. Before long, Hiccup had finished and he smiled warmly at Toothless, only a hint of sadness upon his face.

"It seems that we must part for a while bud," Hiccup said softly as Toothless nudged him with his nose. He looked into the dragon's emerald eyes. "Goodbye."


	2. Part One: Noxia (1)

****Part One - #1 Noxia****

* * *

As the black dragon faded into the night sky, he grew tired. Toothless hadn't stopped for a break the entire trip and was beginning to feel the effects if it. So as he passed yet another island, he briefly wondered if he should rest before he shook the thought from his mind. He couldn't let Hiccup down by not trying hard enough. How could he overcome his problems without trials? And so, he continued forward. But an hour later, he began to regret his decision.

__Damn it___,_ he thought. His entire body was rapt with exhaustion, being deprived of food and water since he left Berq. The chances of him finding another island before he lost what little energy he had left were very slim. But, Toothless knew that he could conserve his energy, making it last long enough to return to the island he'd passed an hour ago and decided to turn back. "I can't do it... it'd be illogical not to turn back," he groaned aloud as he changed direction, only to find himself staring right into Hiccup's face. He was puzzled before he noticed the shards of ice around him and Stoick's cold and lifeless body next to his rider.

Hiccup stared straight at him, eyes full of hatred and despair, and he _hissed_, "_Go... away.._." It was then that Toothless found all of his energy depleted to a mere dwindle, only big enough to keep him conscious as he fell from the sky and hit the water with a loud _splash_. Using up the last bit of energy left to float to the surface and drift on his back, Toothless was now paralysed with his exhaustion. He couldn't move, for his body would not respond to any of his commands. Slowly, the darkness of night enveloped him and as he stared up into the cloudless night and at the incandescent stars, he felt his eyelids droop.

__I'm sorry Hiccup...__

* * *

After drifting, unconscious, the black dragon eventually washed up upon the shores of a large island. As he woke he could feel the granulated sand rub against his scales, irritating him to no end. He could taste the residue of something in his mouth, something sweet, and briefly wondered what it was. The last thing he'd eaten was fish, and fish were __anything__ but sweet.

Toothless groaned as he finally opened his eyes to survey his surroundings, his emerald gaze washing over the beachfront where he lay. He was far from where the tide could reach, and it looked as if he'd been dragged to the position he was in now. Marks in the sand told him that much.

_But who?_

As he asked himself that question, he could hear the sound of paws crushing and compacting the sand as whatever it was walked towards him, so he shut his eyes again and waited. He doubted whoever it was would hurt him, seeing as they saved him from drifting out to sea again. As he heard the footsteps move next to him, he could hear whoever it was muttering to itself. To Toothless, the voice sounded young and male, and deciding that whatever and whoever it could be was no threat, Toothless opened his eyes. As the dragon held a bunch of things in his paws, he looked at the previously lifeless body of Toothless. Then he had to look again when the piercing emerald caught his eye and realised the dragon was awake.

"You're awake?" the dragon asked and Toothless nearly cried tears of joy.

"You're... a Night Fury... yes?" Toothless asked weakly.

"Obviously..." he replied, a brow raised.

"Finally..." Toothless muttered before falling back into unconsciousness, be it from shock or exhaustion.

"Uh... hello?" the younger Fury called out as he poked Toothless before deeming him unconscious once more and letting out a sigh. "Well then..." he murmured as he gathered the stuff he'd brought down.

* * *

Later on, when Toothless awoke once more, the sweetness in his mouth was more prominent than before. He must have had more of it. He'd never experienced the taste before, as it was quite exquisite, and he rather enjoyed it. But as he remembered where he was, he began to think of the younger Night Fury. __He couldn't be much older than fourteen or fifteen__, Toothless thought as he looked up at the sky. __It's nearly midday. I should go find him and talk to him.__

He then picked himself off the ground and marvelled at how he felt; he was completely restored. He realised that the other Fury must've helped him replenish his strength. However, as he stretched himself out, there was a pair of ice-blue eyes peering out from the forest line where the beach ended. Toothless could feel that he had eyes on him and turned directly towards where the younger Fury was standing.

Surprisingly, the Fury didn't flinch, but when Toothless began to move forwards to thank him, the younger Fury disappeared into the forest. Toothless mentally slapped himself, realising that he shouldn't have moved until he had been understood as friendly. Then he smiled.

"I suppose a little chase won't hurt," he chuckled to himself as he flexed his neck and released his spinal fins. "I'll catch him and make him understand," he added with an evil grin. He then lifted his head to the sky and inhaled deeply, locating the scent of the younger dragon that he'd picked up. "Gotcha," was all he said before he took off at a blistering pace, darting through the forest undergrowth as if there was nothing blocking his way. Despite his size, Toothless easily used his mind's eye to locate the better path to take and instantaneously changed directions thanks to his spinal fins. Toothless didn't understand it, but whenever he was in a forest he always had his senses at max. __There you are__, he thought as he spotted the Night Fury leaning against a tree. He smiled deviously as he pounced at an impeccable speed, giving the young dragon absolutely no time to react.

However, as he reached within two metres of him, the dragon caught him out of the corner of his eye and in a second he had disappeared, dodging out of the way just in time. Toothless landed in the dirt before quickly getting up and facing him. The younger Fury eyed him from a few metres away, a somewhat bothered expression on his face. "You've got some decent reaction time there," Toothless complimented, not taking his eyes off of the dragon. "Excellent, in fact."

"You've got some decent speed yourself for your size," he replied. "I didn't expect you to be able to follow me and find me."

Toothless smirked. "Why'd you run? I wasn't going to hurt you, especially not after you saved my life," he told the younger Fury.

"I didn't feel like talking... and I'm tired," the Fury replied, letting out a sigh of discontent, causing Toothless to burst into laughter.

"I'm Toothless," Toothless said suddenly as he began to calm down, causing confusion to show on the Fury's face once more.

"What?" he asked.

"My name. I'm Toothless, and toothless," he introduced himself, before smiling a toothless smile. "Well, what's yours?"

"Huh?" he paused momentarily before recollecting himself. "Oh. I'm... Praze," he said after pausing again. "I'm sorry I just up and left, I really didn't feel like having a conversation. To be honest, I still don't... but I guess I'll make an effort."

"Well... uh... ok, and it's ok, I didn't mind the chase, Praze. Nice to meet you," Toothless replied, laughing internally at Praze's words. He then sighed with a smile when he realised who he was talking to.

"Did you know that you're the first Night Fury I've seen in a _very _long time," Toothless muttered, only then feeling the shock of meeting one of his own before smiling with glee.

"What? Really?" Praze replied, surprised, as Toothless nodded his head. The two then sat there for a moment, before Toothless let out a sigh.

"Well, I suppose I owe you one now," he said, causing Praze to become confused once more.

"Huh? Why?" Praze asked.

"Because you saved my life, and I'm grateful," Toothless replied with a smile and Praze couldn't help but smile back proudly. "By the way, I have this really sweet taste in my mouth, was that you by any chance?"

Praze then nodded his head, his pride practically overflowing from his youthful stature. "I found out the medicinal properties of cherries myself, as a matter-of-fact," Praze replied, before Toothless' face grew grim.

"You fed me cherries!?" Toothless exclaimed loudly, startling Praze. "Cherries are __poisonous __to dragons!" he exclaimed again, remembering only too well that a human had given cherries to another dragon accidentally. What happened to that dragon was something Toothless __definitely __didn't want to experience personally.

However, as he was about to make himself regurgitate the cherries, Praze let out a laugh. "What? Cherries are only poisonous to other dragons... we Night Furies have a different immune system. In which case, many poisons you think are harmful to us are actually beneficial."

Toothless then stared wide-eyed at Praze, remembering that delectable taste in his mouth when he'd woken up.

"Give me more."

* * *

Praze let out a sigh.

"Despite eating up my __entire __supply of cherries, I suppose it's good to see another Night Fury."

Toothless licked his lips before giving a grin. __He's so young__, he thought with a sigh, before realising something. _He seems... somehow stagnant. _Toothless had noted that ever since meeting Praze, he'd felt as if something was _off__. _He shook it off, only then realising something.

"Where are your parents?" he asked the younger dragon. "You seem fairly young to be on your own."

"My parents died when I was... younger," Praze told him, looking away. "On top of that, I have no idea where my brother is. He's seven or eight years older than me, so he should be around your age. He left a year after I was born."

"Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry for your loss..." Toothless trailed off, only imagining the kind of torment a dragon his age would experience from that sort of traumatic experience. "I won't ask you anything about your parents, but do you know what your brother's name was?" Toothless asked.

"Well, they told me his name was Viri," Praze replied.

_"___Viri___... Silva..._" a voice emanated throughout Toothless' whole body, instilling a chill before he felt a throng of pain in his head. He yelled out and clutched his head before falling on his side, flailing in the dust.

"What was what?" Praze asked, confused by his outburst.

Toothless sat, a chill enveloping him.

"I... I t-think I knew your brother..."


	3. Part One: Illumination (2)

****Part One - #2 Illumination****

* * *

"Huh? Really?" Praze asked, his eyes widening. "How do you know him?"

_"Stop..." _Toothless moaned abruptly as his head continued to pound.

"Didn't you just say you knew my brother?"

Toothless moaned again before he dropped down to the ground and squished his head in between his front paws, the pain in it subsequently growing ever more prominent. All the information that was locked away from him, the information that was broken from several years of enslavement, was suddenly becoming more of a burden than usual. The mere mentioning of a name had stimulated the darkest depths of Toothless' mind and had started to rip him apart. If he was ever to regain his memories, he would have to do it slowly and carefully.

"Praze..." Toothless murmured. The young dragon's ears perked up, sensing the seriousness in Toothless' voice.

"Yes?"

Toothless thought it best that Praze became aware of the situation, the situation that threatened to tear Toothless apart despite already being so mentally scarred. Toothless was actually surprised that he wasn't suffering from any visions at the current time. __Is it because I'm in the presence of another Fury? No, wait. ____Now ____is not the time to be thinking about thi____s.__

"O-Ok, Praze..." Toothless wavered. "I'm going to tell you something, so I need you to listen up..." he began before he took a deep breath. "Ok, I used to be the slave of a false Alpha, known as the Red Death." Praze's eyes widened when Toothless mentioned this, before Toothless hushed the young dragon with his paw. "I can't remember anything before I was freed from servitude. And I escaped seven years ago, when I was about fifteen or sixteen. Without the help of a, uh... good friend of mine, I probably wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to escape."

"Would that be Viri?" Praze asked before Toothless shook his head.

"I can't remember," he lied. Toothless thought it best that he didn't reveal too much at that point in time. Telling the young dragon that he was heavily involved with _humans _probably wouldn't be the best of ideas. For the time being, Toothless was just going to take it slow. "I may not remember, but I believe Viri had something to do with the Red Death."

"So... you don't have any idea where he is?" Praze asked, slowly losing his enthusiasm, as Toothless shook his head. "Damn... I thought I had finally found a lead on him..."

Toothless sighed in dismay, feeling sorry for the young dragon before him. Toothless was lucky that he didn't remember his earlier life, in comparison to Praze, who remembered everything. Parents dying, brother missing, and then there was the fact that there was something seriously wrong with him that Toothless was yet to understand. Praze was in worse condition than he was. "I'm sorry Praze..." Toothless said before he looked up to the sky, and narrowed his eyes. "Anyway, it's getting late. The sun's almost set, and I've yet to search this island for a decent place to sleep."

"No need to be sorry, Toothless," Praze murmured simply. "It's none of your concern. But, until the sun goes down, would you like me to give you a tour of this island?" he asked as he began to stand up. Toothless smiled at his hospitality.

"That'd be wonderful, thanks, Praze" Toothless answered before standing up and stretching his limbs and wings, feeling enthused for a flight session after not having one for so long. "What's this island called?" he then asked.

"Well, no one actually lives here apart from me. I haven't actually come up with a name for it yet..." Praze replied, scratching his head with his tail.

"Really!?" Toothless exclaimed, surprised. "Well you should name it as soon as possible, then it will be deemed as yours."

"I haven't really bothered, to be honest," he murmured.

"Well, you've already introduced this as your island so it isn't official until you've named it. I'll even help you come up with one if you'd like?" Toothless suggested, and Praze smiled.

"Alright then, I'll think about it."

* * *

"... and that's the mountain where I live," Praze continued, nearing the end of his island tour.

So far, he had shown Toothless most of his island. The total circumference of it amounted to nearly ten kilometres, which would be the distance to run around the entire shoreline. Its shape was one with one side like a circle and the other end pointed away from it like a comet's tail to the sun, the difference being the slight curve that made a large cove on one side of the island. In the centre of the sphere end, there was a large mountain, where Praze lived, and at the top of the mountain there was a large lake that spanned six hundred metres of a one-kilometre clearing. The clearing levelled one side of the mountain, but the other side was a rocky as any other mountain and its tip still reached several hundred metres into the air. On that side, there was a large cave that led, from the clearing, deep into the heart of the mountain, and just so happened to be where Praze lived.

"Wow... this is really something..." was all Toothless could say.

"I know, right? No other dragon lives here, just me," Praze replied as he noticed that the sky had finally turned into its vibrant display of incandescent stars. "I think we should be going and getting some rest now, don't you think?"

"Good idea," Toothless replied.

So, the two flew down to the clearing and set up a fire in front of Praze's cave before finally settling down and falling asleep.

For Toothless, it was the first peaceful sleep since he defeated Drago and the Bewilderbeast.

* * *

When Toothless had been woken by Praze the next morning, the younger dragon had been filled with a sudden desire to swim, dragging Toothless along with him to swim around the entire day, relaxing in the crystal clear water.

That night Toothless slept peacefully once more.

Next morning, Toothless was woken by Praze again to find that both his and Praze's scales were encrusted with the white crystallised salt from the day before. Praze wanted Toothless to go with him to the lake to wash up, and Toothless agreed. The two of them had washed their scales and before they knew it, they'd spent the day relaxing in the water and sleeping by the banks.

Once again, Toothless slept peacefully.

This continued for a week, with Praze constantly waking him up to go and explore more of the island. Some parts, like the cave by the shore on the other side of the mountain, Praze hadn't gone in before due to a lack of motivation. The weather had also been fluctuating, as per usual for the island, and had cycled between the most prominent weather; rain, and cloudy skies. However, it would seem that Toothless wasn't clear of his ailments yet. He was far from it.

Because on that seventh day, he was curled up in a ball, constantly screaming, scaring Praze to no end. A week with a Night Fury wasn't enough to help him yet.

"Toothless! What's wrong!?" Praze had exclaimed, extremely alarmed.

There'd been no response. Only the sounds of uncontrollable sobbing had been heard from the broken Night Fury.

Through the week, the two had formed at least some kind of a friendship, despite the lack of motivation once more from Praze. But, it was still enough for the young dragon to be immobilised by the sight before him. After that Toothless had eventually cried himself to sleep, finally allowing Praze to fall asleep as well.

All Praze knew was that Toothless had a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

* * *

As the sun slowly broke into the cave, it began to bask on the closed slits of Toothless' eyes and caused him to stir. Eventually, the deep emerald began to show through the slits as he slowly opened them, the light beginning to dilate his pupils. Growing more accustomed to the light by blinking several times, he let out a yawn as he began to stretch and stand up. However, as he did, he could feel a stern pair of eyes on him. Toothless turned to find the source of the eyes, only to find Praze sitting directly across from him with a _def__inite _stern look on his face.

"Good morning," Toothless groaned as he yawned again.

"Morning, Toothless," Praze replied, not breaking his gaze. It was the first time Praze had been so serious, Toothless had noticed something about his eyes.

"Do you have-" he began to ask before he was cut off by Praze.

"Don't change the subject," he said sternly, surprising Toothless. "You need to tell me the truth, and nothing but the truth. I was completely useless last night, so __you __need to tell me what's going on. Right now. I'm a healer and I have extensive knowledge in the subject, but still I was useless. I simply cannot leave that unnoticed."

Toothless sighed, knowing he could no longer keep it from him anyway. "It's ok, I'll tell you but be aware that I'm not going to tell you everything yet," Toothless said and Praze nodded. "Okay, good. Anyway, something has happened... recently... that has caused my mental state to be, well, not too good_. _This week has been the longest time I've gone without having any nightmares or visions, and I think it's because of you."

"Huh? Really?" Praze asked, confused. "How could I have helped you?"

"Well," Toothless said before smiling, "because you've no __idea__ how much you've been helping me. I think that you could really help me get rid of this thing permanently." Praze lightened up at the compliment and grinned widely.

"Really?" he asked and Toothless nodded. "Why me?"

"I... don't really know." __Thank you, Praze__ he thought. __Without you, another Night Fury, I don't what I would have done.__

* * *

**A/N**

**Regarding editing, currently, I've at least made it to here. Not far, I know. But take into consideration that I'm doing three things at once: rewriting (including editing _and_ changing up some parts so it fits better with later parts of the story), writing things down that I need to remember to include later, _and _making a list of things I'm coming up with/remembering that I'm going to include also.**


	4. Part One: Amicus (3)

****Part One - #3 Amicus****

After inspecting Praze's eyes once more, Toothless realised that there was something up with them after all.

After their talk that morning, the two had ended up laying down by the lake in the hot sun. A day with no clouds was highly unusual for the island, being in an area known as a rain principle.

There were four principles amongst the archipelago and beyond; sun, rain, forest and snow. Principles were like weather zones, they determined the sort of weather each area had. The sun principles were prone to more Summer weather, whilst the rain and snow principles were prone to Winter weather. Forest principles were prone to Spring and Autumn weather.

Toothless grinned evilly before leaning in and whispering into Praze's ear, "I wonder if there are any female Night Furies that are your age because they'd __adore__ your eyes."

Praze smirked. "That kind of intimidation is _not _going to work on me, Toothless."

* * *

Several hours later, Praze and Toothless had moved down to the shore and sat on the sand.

"Amicus," Praze suddenly murmured out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry what?" Toothless asked, confused.

"Amicus," Praze repeated, "I thought of a name for the island. Amicus."

__Amicus Island... it has a nice ring to it.__ "I like it," Toothless said with a smile. Praze smiled at his agreement.

"Then I declare this island to be called Amicus," Praze told him before he walked over to Toothless and tapped him. Toothless looked at him quizzically before Praze raised his brow. Then Toothless smiled.

The two of them bolted out of position with Toothless racing after Praze, trying desperately to tag the younger dragon back. Toothless might be fast, but he was nowhere _near _Praze's speed and reflexes. __If I were to show him my spinal fins then he would be unstoppable... __Toothless thought as he continued to chase the younger Fury.

But things took a turn when Praze opened his wings and bolted into the air, spinning quickly into a cone to increase his starting speed before releasing it and flying like a spear. __I'm not letting you get away!__ Toothless thought as he shot into the air and released his spinal fins. Praze looked behind him to see Toothless following him and he smiled. __You won't beat me in the air; your size won't allow you to make as sharp a turns as me, __Praze thought with a grin as he began to slow down to bait the larger dragon. Toothless smiled as he realised what Praze was doing. He took Praze's bait and began to speed up when they both neared the top of the mountain. Then, just as Toothless was about to catch him, Praze made an almost impossible turn and began flying above the lake. __Good luck following me now-__ but Praze's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Toothless' wings behind him.

"What!-" he began before Toothless grabbed ahold of him and __threw __him into the lake beneath them with a loud _splash_. After a few seconds, Praze resurfaced to see Toothless far in the distance and was just in time to hear a "You're it," from him.

"Damn..." Praze sighed. "Aren't you just a bundle of fun?" he muttered sarcastically as he dragged himself up out of the lake and shook himself off. He realised he was smiling, and that he hadn't had this much fun for quite some time, and with that realisation, his smile faded. He felt a dull ache in his chest that made him clutch at it with his front paw. His eyes were filled with a deep sadness that he was having fun with the wrong person, but nonetheless, he let out a sigh and cleared his mind. _Stop dwelling on the past, Praze. It'll only hurt more. _

After a moment, he looked up and smiled. He'd thought a plan that would undoubtedly catch the older Fury off guard.

* * *

Unaware to Praze, Toothless had retreated to the other side of the island and now laid in the thick undergrowth of the Forest, right by the shoreline. Toothless knew when he noticed Praze wasn't following him, that the younger dragon would try to set up a trap of some sort. So, he decided that he would just sit there and wait for Praze's trap to completely fall apart, for Praze to just come to him so he could evade him into the darkness of night. Luckily, he hadn't given Praze the opportunity to take in his scent yet, otherwise, he would have to dismiss all his plans. Then again, it was an equal advantage because he hadn't taken in Praze's scent either. Toothless wasn't sure how long their game would last, but he was sure that Praze wouldn't give up until he'd at least gotten him "_it_" again.

"Well," he thought aloud, "I might as well get some rest, an afternoon nap won't hurt." With a smile on his face, he took to his words and slowly dazed off into a peaceful sleep.

It seemed that Toothless was now more confident in sleeping again, for in the past he couldn't even __contemplate __having an afternoon nap. The risk of having a nightmare had been a one-hundred percent probability. That number had already decreased exponentially. What was the most surprising, though, was the fact that as Toothless delved into a deeper sleep he began to dream. The world had been so foreign, yet he was living it. __Dreaming__ it. Dreaming that he was in a clear meadow, the light of the many luminescent stars falling upon him. Which was the sight he woke to see.

He then shook his head with a smile. Whatever it may have been, he was grateful for the dream. Whatever is was, it was an indication that he was on his way back to sanity. Despite having a long way to go, he was still on his way. He knew he'd make it there. He then yawned loudly before cutting himself off abruptly, his instincts somehow in need of use. Then, he was alert. Something was near.

As quietly as he could, Toothless peered out from the undergrowth and his eyes widened at what he saw. The still form of a Night Fury lay on the beach, and it was nowhere near the small size of Praze. No. This dragon was the size of _himself. _And judging by his and Praze's stature compared to the still form, his eyes widening further, it was __female___._

He slowly began to creep forward, insatiably curious at the first appearance of a female Night Fury. __What's it like?__ __What are the differences between male and female, aside from the obvious ones?__ __Why is it here?__ He asked himself all these questions before becoming disturbed. __Why is its wing so demented?__

He looked closer, only now being able to distinguish the shape of a completely shattered wing with almost all of the bones out of place. It was her right wing, and she seemed to have dislocated it.

__That must be so painful...__

Toothless' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a stick snapping beneath his feet and his head shot up to look at the female quickly, and he was shocked. Because staring back at him were eyes of deep purple, boring into him as his eyes widened. He barely had time to react when the female got up and was suddenly on top of him, effectively pinning him beneath her. She eyed him furiously.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed, and his eyes widened further before they narrowed in annoyance.

"What do you think __you're __doing?" he shot back, equally furious. "I had been peacefully asleep, and I happened to be here first! What's _your _excuse?" Suddenly her expression softened, and Toothless felt the weight slowly slide off him as she collapsed on the ground next to him. It was only then that Toothless could feel something on his scales as he looked down and gasped. He was covered in blood. __Her__ blood.

Shocked, he looked over to where she had been laying and found a larger pool of blood before finally looking back to her and he nearly fainted at what he could see. She was completely covered in the sickening, ghastly red. Through it all Toothless could barely find the source of it but when he did, his stomach turned over. There was a massive cut across the side of her neck, blood seeping through the hard scales. Her jugular was punctured. Fortunately, it seemed that her scales had suppressed most of the blood flow, but for lying in the sand however long she had, she'd lost a considerable amount of blood.

He had to get her some help and __fast__, otherwise, his first meeting with a female Night Fury could quite possibly be his last.

* * *

"_Praze!_"

Praze's ears perked up at the sound of Toothless' voice. He was about to surprise the older Fury if not for the urgency he noticed in Toothless' voice.

"What's wrong? I'm over here!" Praze called out from the trees beside the lake. Toothless saw him and rushed over to him. "What is it?" Praze repeated. It was then that he finally noticed the blood all over him. "What did you do to yourself?"

Toothless could only stare blankly at the ground as he huffed for air. "Not... mine..." he gasped as he continued to replenish his blood with oxygen. Praze's eyes widened when he spoke again. "It's another Night Fury. A female. She's injured badly and will die if we can't help her."


	5. Part One: Conviction (4)

****Part One - #4 Conviction****

* * *

"Praze what do we do!?" Toothless exclaimed, he and Praze now in front of the lifeless body. "Y-You know how to h-heal, right?" he asked weakly as Praze's widened eyes began to twitch.

"She's... dying_,_" he muttered, somewhat for his own benefit. He was trying to come to terms with the state of what laid before him and he couldn't do much else until then.

"__Yes__ Praze, now _DO SOMETHING!" _Toothless boomed in desperation, his face crestfallen and despondent. "Do... something..._" _he barely whispered, a cold sweat enveloping him as he curled up into a ball against a tree.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Praze yelled as he stormed up to Toothless, who just ignored him. Praze's eye twitched before he lifted his tail and slapped Toothless unhesitantly, his eyes cold. "Don't you _dare _leave me to do this by myself! Get up and help me save her!" he exclaimed, vexed at Toothless' uselessness.

The older dragon then slowly lifted himself up to a sitting position before staring at the ground. "Thanks, Praze..." he murmured, "what do you need me to do?" Praze sighed away his anger at successfully reviving Toothless from whatever dark part of his mind the older Fury had fallen to.

"Well, she's lost a lot of blood. Almost a quarter, if I were to guess. If she loses any more than that, she'll go into hypovolemic shock and die," he told him. "We need to stop the bleeding and heal the punctured jugular."

"But how?" Toothless asked. "It's not as if we're human; we don't have hands to be able to fix this kind of injury!" he exclaimed before flinching slightly at the fact that Hiccup would have been able to help her. __Why could this not have happened on Berq,__ he thought before he was led on to another question. __How am I going to tell Praze about Hiccup? What would he think-__

"You might not understand, but Night Fury saliva contains regenerative abilities," Praze explained, interrupting Toothless' thoughts. "All we need to do is lick the wound and allow it to regenerate." Toothless then smiled, gloriously happy that it was going to be alright. "You've a larger tongue than me, so I'll need you to do it," Praze added. Toothless looked at him sceptically.

"You just don't want to be embarrassed because she's female, so you're just going to stick the responsibility on me, right?" A moment of silence ensued as Praze accepted Toothless' accusation.

"That's not the point, my reasoning is perfectly valid," he argued innocently.

"__You're__ the healer here! Admit it! You're just too scared to!" Toothless replied, a knowing smirk on his face.

"We don't have time for this, she could die any moment!" Praze bit back. "It is absolutely paramount that we focus on her - unless you want her death to be on you?" Toothless grumbled something unintelligent before letting out a sigh.

"Fine."

* * *

As Toothless and Praze laid beside the comatose female Fury, the two began to ponder the significance of what had occurred and what would occur. Things would surely be different on Amicus, at least until the resulting chaos had returned to mundanities.

"How is she?" Toothless asked as he placed the remaining stacks of firewood on the sand and began to form a tripod of sticks and Praze looked up at him when he placed down his own stacks.

"She seems to be doing fine," he replied as he walked over to her. "I've given her some cherries to boost her natural regenerative abilities but she'll be in a coma for a while. All we can do now is wait." Toothless let out a sigh of relief as he collapsed on the ground beside the few logs, rolling onto his back before swiftly blowing a small stream of blue-purple flame onto them and lighting them up with an orange hue.

"This should keep her, and __us___, _warm whilst we watch over her," Toothless murmured to himself before he turned his gaze back to the younger Fury. "How close was she?"

"Hard to say," Praze replied, "but she'll be in a coma until her blood volume returns to normal. I've estimated a thirty percent loss of total blood volume. She's lucky to be alive." Toothless smiled.

"When did you get so good at all this stuff? Back on Ber- I mean, where I'm from, the healers were never as good a healer as you." Toothless sighed mentally at his slip up before accumulated his resolve and made a decision. It was time to tell. He trusted Praze more than any other, besides Hiccup and Cloudjumper, and would act accordingly. Friends didn't keep secrets unless they were to cause harm from their appraisal.

Praze smirked. "You mustn't have very good healers where you're from."

"Yeah, but if you had more knowledge you'd be able to possibly become the best healer out of all the Archipelago!" Toothless exclaimed with a grin before the two of them noticed the cloak of darkness approach the horizon. The sun was setting. "Praze." The statement was flat, yet firm, and Praze's eyes turned on him as he rolled to lie on his stomach.

"What?" he asked in return, unsure about Toothless' seriousness.

"I think by now you deserve to know who I am."

* * *

After that, both Praze and Toothless had a lengthy discussion including many of Toothless' adventures, beginning from the only place he could: the Red Death. After the initial shock of hearing of Toothless' involvement with humans, Praze began to piece together the puzzle. Despite not knowing anything of Viri, Toothless had told of how he defeated the false alpha, the "Red Death", but only with the help of Hiccup. A human.

"Humans and Dragons?" Praze had asked. He couldn't imagine such a harmony, so Toothless had told him that once the whole ordeal with the female Night Fury had ended, he would take him to Berq to meet the human Toothless thought so highly of. Then, after telling of the defeat of the Red Death, Toothless moved on to Hiccup and his' travels throughout their known world. Discovering new lands with differentiations in principles; a change from the usual bleak sun principle of Berq. It most certainly didn't seem like it, with its cold weather including snowfall, despite being a sun principle. At least there weren't rainstorms. Normally. Praze was also surprised to hear that Toothless had never been in or seen a snow principle, but then again, he hadn't either. They were supposedly the rarest of all the principles. Nobody knew how the principles worked, apparently it was something to do with the atmosphere, which no one would be able to analyse for centuries to come. After their discussion on principles and with the two of them deciding their favourite principle was rain, Toothless began to tell of his and Hiccup's discovery of the Dragon Hunters and of the destruction and chaos that ensued afterwards. Then, came the ending of the story and along with it... the truth about Toothless' condition.

"You mean to say that you defeated an __Alpha___ Bewilderbeast_!?" Praze exclaimed. Toothless nodded his head. "This Bewilderbeast... was an __Alpha__, right?" Again, Toothless nodded his head. Praze was shocked. "Then... you're an __Alpha__!?"

"Well, no... not at this point in time," Toothless replied with a sigh. "It's complicated..." Praze took a moment to take in all the information.

"So... you left the title of Alpha to one whom you trust, on Berq, because you were no longer fit to be Alpha, and you ended up here?" Praze theorised with a brow raised. Toothless could only smile at the young Fury's intuition.

"Praze, did you come up with that situation all in your head, within that short amount of time after I finished telling you?" Toothless asked and Praze nodded.

"What of it?"

Toothless sighed in awe. "You know, you're __very__ _i_ntelligent. Has anyone ever told you that?" he asked.

"Well... no," Praze replied shortly. "You're forgetting that I've never met any others before..."

"Oh yeah, that's right..." Toothless trailed off before there was a moment of silence. A few minutes passed as the two stared up at the sky and watched the stars burn brightly before Praze eventually broke the silence.

"So was I right?" he asked as Toothless faced him.

"More or less," he replied. "I kept on having nightmares that disturbed our village, I had to leave otherwise I ran the risk of potentially hurting the townspeople. I had already hurt Hiccup..." he trailed off when Praze remembered something from earlier.

"Say, Toothless, I forgot to ask this earlier, but may I see it?" Toothless ears perked up as he tilted his head in confusion. "Your tail, can I see it?"

"Oh. That... sure," Toothless replied. "You won't be able to deduce much, though. Hiccup is a very talented artist and he made the replica look almost exactly like my other tailfin." With that, Toothless brought his tail around in front of him and allowed Praze to inspect it. As Praze did so, he brought his paw up to it and gently knocked on it, producing a sturdy __clang__ sound of the thin metal it was made from. "In case you're wondering, Hiccup designed it and built it from scratch with a metal he invented. He called it Aluminium. On the inside, there are bars of the stuff that support it whilst over the top, there's a leather coating similar to that of our scales. He spent forever calibrating it to work with the muscle in my tail. It's the only thing I have left of him as of now, so I can't wait to get through this ordeal and return."

Praze looked up to him and smiled. "Oh, you will. I know it." Toothless smiled back before he came to mind about something. He didn't know whether or not it was because Praze was his own kind, but he felt as if he'd known him his whole life.

"Praze... I trust you with my life. I don't want to be separated from you, the first of my kind I've met, so I'm asking if you would allow me to take in your scent. I'll trust you with mine, also. You don't have to if you don't want to, though."

For a second, Praze's eyes widened, but after long he regained his composure and let out a sigh. He was _not_ comfortable at all with doing such a thing. Just the thought of it made him feel vulnerable but after a few moments, he came to a decision and nodded slowly. "Alright... but if you ever abuse this... I'll..." Praze then trailed off, his heart aching at the words as dreadful images filled his mind. But after a moment, he steeled his thoughts and stared at Toothless with cold, unwavering eyes. "I'll kill you, Toothless."

Toothless smiled. Despite knowing very well that Praze was being completely serious, he replied, "I accept those conditions."

When it came to dragons and their scents, they were __very__ selective of whom they share theirs with. There was the scent you get when you're near another dragon that allows you to track them to a certain degree, but it was never permanent. No dragon would give out their constant location __permanently__ to just anyone. That was what "taking in their scent" meant. This was also how dragons had an impeccable sense of direction whenever they were navigating to places they've been because specific islands had individual scents as well as dragons. As Toothless and Praze exchanged their scents, Praze came to associate Toothless' scent with a seaside forest; salty, lively and fresh. Coincidentally, Toothless came to associate Praze's scent with cherries. In this case, the two associated the scents from when they first met in the cove of Amicus' main beach. When all that was said and done, Praze had suggested that Toothless take in Amicus' scent for when he would eventually leave. That was when the two had finally noticed the blood that stained Toothless' black scales.

"Ok... you're going to have to go wash that off..." was all Praze had said, before Toothless left him to watch over the female Fury so he could wash off in the lake. Unless he wanted the white and crystallised salt to stick to him like it did when he'd swum in the sea, he'd have to wash in the lake instead of the sea. So now, as he sat in the shallows of the lake, the starry night sky reflecting upon the surface, he was able to __think__ about the situation.

__How did she pin me whilst in all that pain? How did she even have the strength to?__ he thought as he began to scrub off the residual blood on his chest. __Who even did that to her? Why? How old is she? Does she have a mate?__

His face heated up when he realised just what he was thinking, and he cursed his thought processes for drifting. But deep down he knew. Sooner or later, he would get some answers. Sooner or later, she would wake up.

* * *

**A/N**

**This one's edited now, too.**


	6. Part One: Azure Haze (5)

****Part One #5 – Azure Haze****

* * *

A week had passed since the arrival of the female Fury and after all the time spent just sitting around near her, Praze had learnt a great deal about Berq from Toothless. He learned more about the coexisting village, and more about the day-to-day lives there. But what _Toothless _was curious about was right before them. The female Fury. Many questions surrounded her and her arrival. Most of them were _why _questions, but there were others such as _who _and _how. _Just _who _was the strange female Fury? Not just _how_ but _why_ did she receive her injuries? _Who _did she receive them from? It was apparently clear that she had gotten into a fight. _Did she deserve it?_

__No___, _Toothless had thought. He shouldn't have been jumping to conclusions like that anytime soon. That would have to wait until she awoke.

* * *

"So, what's this Stormcutter like?" Praze asked, curious about another rare species of dragon alongside Night Furies. "I know you trusted him the most on Berq, apart from Hiccup, and that you entrusted the __Alpha__ status to him, but what is he actually like? I've never met any of his kind before."

"Well, he's certainly got a level of humour about him and he never seems to stop babbling about things that no one really cares about," Toothless replied. "In short, he's like a mentor."

"That's cool, I'd certainly like to meet one," Praze murmured. "I'd like to study one. Also, what about this Nadder?"

"Well," Toothless began, "it wasn't really up to Stormfly and I whether we knew each other or not." Praze was confused. "As in, it was just because she was Hiccup's partner's dragon."

"Really? What is Hiccup's mate's name?" Praze then asked.

"I'm not actually sure if they're mates or not because humans have different relations when it comes to their partners," Toothless replied with a confused sigh before adding, "but her name is Astrid."

"Astrid? What's she like?" Praze the asked.

"Well, she's certainly independent, that's for sure. You'll understand when you meet her," he added.

"Stop _saying _that and actually take me there," Praze muttered. "My curiosity is killing me."

"I don't know when we'll go, but it's getting dark," Toothless said as he looked up to see the stars appearing one-by-one, "do you think you could go and catch some fish for us to eat?"

"Sure, I feel like I need to stretch anyway, I'll be back in about half an hour or so," Praze replied as he took off and headed to the lake at the top of the mountain. Freshwater fish always tasted the best.

Toothless then sighed to himself as he began the usual routine of collecting the stacks of firewood and placing them inside the well-worn circle of stones, before lighting it with a small burst of flame and rolling onto his back to look at the stars. He then let out a deep sigh as his eyelids began to droop. However, unbeknownst to the tired dragon, the black form beside him had begun to stir. Slowly, the reflection of the fire began to cast upon two deep-amethyst globes and the female Fury's body began to stretch and tense silently. She quickly took stock of her injuries, wincing as she tried to move her completely dislocated wing. She cast her eyes upon Toothless, and they did not falter as she began to rise slowly.

Unfortunately for him, Toothless half-opened one of his eyes and was confused momentarily. That was when both of them opened and widened, and he jumped to his feet as quickly as he could but he wasn't fast enough.

"This again?" was all he could ask as she snarled, and he was silenced by a claw to his throat.

"Answer my questions or I will kill you without hesitation," she growled, a fire in her eyes. Toothless growled in annoyance, as he had done merely a week ago, now getting exasperated.

"Would you try GETTING OFF OF ME FIRST!?" he exclaimed loudly in annoyance. "If you want answers then __stop__ pinning me!"

"AS IF!" she shot back in reply. "Who _knows _what you did to me whilst I was unconscious? You probably __used__ me! All you males are the same!" she hissed.

"What kind of prejudice is __that__!?" he yelled back, the hostility in the air abundantly clear. Toothless was now __furious __at her claims. "Have you failed to notice that you aren't dead? Your jugular was pierced! You've been in a coma for a week!"

"You might have just saved me for your hideous desires!" she yelled, outraged. "How can you affirm your argument?"

Toothless stopped for a moment, realising something. __All__ __you__ __males__ __are__ __the__ __same___. _

"Were you attacked by another Night Fury?" he asked suddenly, the tone of his voice soft and soothing once more. A glint seemed to flare in her eyes before she growled in anger once more.

"I wasn't __just___ attacked_!" she yelled as her throat began to glow with fire, "I was nearly __raped__, only to find __you__ here attempting to do the same!" she finished with a hiss, about to fire upon him.

"_STOP!_" a voice came from the edge of the forest. Both Toothless and the female's head's turned to see Praze standing there, an unmistakable scowl of pure anger on his face. "_First _of all, Toothless would _never _even __contemplate __doing something so _aberrant_! How __dare __you accuse him of such when he's been watching over you every night since you've arrived! If it weren't for him you'd be __DEAD___!_"

The female looked shocked, but Toothless just smiled. _Thanks, Praze_, he thought.

Praze had rushed back after he heard the yelling, thanking his speed and quick-thinking for being able to stop a fight.

The female was still too shocked to move, as she was now inspecting the young Fury on the edge of the forest. _Such a young Night Fury, _she thought. She turned her head back to Toothless, who was trying to hold in his laughter. "What's so funny?" she hissed.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, barely keeping the laughs at bay, "but you just got __told__!" he finished and he burst out laughing. On the inside, the female softened. She knew that she had rushed her accusations the instant the younger Fury had shown up. But on the __outside__, she wasn't going to let him know anything about her. She slowly got off of him before wincing at her wing again. "You should really be careful with that wing of yours," Toothless said as he got up.

"I don't need your sympathy," she replied hotly. "But... thank you for saving me," she relented. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"It's okay. You seem to have gone through a traumatic time before you arrived here," Toothless said as he laid back down on the sand and faced the fire. "Praze, you can go and get the fish now. For all three of us, thanks."

"Sure."

Toothless turned his attention to the female who was sitting awkwardly on the other side of the fire. "You can lay down, you know, I'm seriously not going to hurt you. Just relax." And she did, laying down before looking at her wing. "That's gotta hurt," he commented as he looked at it.

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

Toothless frowned. She was getting on his nerves. "Would you stop being so arrogant and accept the fact that you're injured?" he asked in annoyance.

"No," she replied shortly. Toothless just sighed before laying his head on his paws. __This is going to be a long night, __he thought. She then shuffled her paws before also laying her head on them. A moment of silence passed and the flame of the fire licked at the cold night air before the female Fury spoke again.

"So..." she began, one of Toothless' eyes half-opening to look at her, "the other Fury called you "Toothless", didn't he? Is your name..." She paused for a moment, before covering her mouth with her paw, "_Toothless?_"

Several laughs began to escape her before she completely lost it. Toothless, whom's cheeks were flushed incredulously, was surprised by the sound before he shook his head to clear his stupor. "Maybe," he answered, looking away, as the female's laughs rose until it cut out abruptly and the sound of coughing replaced it. Instantly Toothless' head swiveled to see the female hunched over her paws, her entire body shaking and causing pain to her injured wing. "Are you ok?" he asked, getting up from his position.

"I'm... _fine_..." she hissed again before remembering her manners. "I just need a drink," she added, her cough dying down. "Is there any fresh water around here?"

"No," Toothless replied flatly, settling himself back down on the sand. He then looked at her to saw her skeptical expression and rolled his eyes. "I can arrange for some, but it would be easier if you would let us help you," he said, motioning to her wing. She followed his gaze to see each of the individual bones out of place on her wing. She turned back to him.

"Are either of you healers?" she asked. "If you're Toothless, then who's the other one? The younger Fury?"

"How about we make a full introduction, hmm?" Toothless then asked with a smile on his face. "I'm Toothless. You are...?"

The female seemed to grumble about something before she looked away for a moment. "Uh... I'm Sora," she replied quickly, her eyes averting his.

"Yeah, I'm not buying it. I don't know why you're so untrusting, but anyone with a brain can tell that's not your name," Toothless laughed. "Do you think it's really going to matter?" he continued, and she pouted.

"I'm... just not used to talking to others..." she muttered before meeting his scrutinizing gaze once again and relented with a sigh. "My name is Acacia." Toothless smiled.

"That's a beautiful name," he said absent-mindedly. His cheeks then flushed as he buried his face in his paws. "I meant to say that it was nice..."

Acacia then laughed shortly at his flustered state. "Why thanks, your name is beautiful as well," she teased. "I'm sorry, I meant nonsensical," she added, intentionally copying his own muttered reply.

"You suck."

"__You__ suck."

* * *

After that, the two had fallen silent until Praze had returned with some fish. Acacia had to make-do with the moisture from the fish until she could gain access to fresh water.

Then after their meal, Praze had introduced himself to her as did she to him. Then it was just the task of her letting him take a look at her destroyed wing...


	7. Part One: Parley? (6)

****P********art One - #6 ********Parley?****

* * *

It was dark. Midnight, to be specific. Yet only one was sleeping peacefully, another, cautiously aware, lying on their back, staring at the stars. The remainder, also cautiously aware, was sitting across from the latter, never-ceasing doubt ruthlessly singeing the deep pools of amethyst.

The fire had long since burnt out. All that could be heard were the sounds of the wind in the sky, coursing swiftly through the trees, and the sounds of the sea; gathered waves crashing onto the sand. The serenity was broken when Acacia spoke.

"How long do you plan on staying awake?" she asked, a hint of underlying annoyance in her voice. Toothless' eyes trained on her.

"Until I know you're not going to run away," he replied with a slight smirk.

"Why would it matter if I ran?" she questioned.

"Because for one; you're injured, and two; you're only the second Night Fury I recall I've met my entire life besides Praze, whom I only met about three weeks ago." Acacia then smirked as she laid her head back down on her paws.

"Possessive much?" she asked humorously.

"Call it what you will, but the least we can do is patch you up before you go," Toothless replied as he closed his eyes. "I'm not going to do anything to you. Get some rest. Good night."

With that he fell silent, curling into a ball to stay warm. But Acacia's mind wasn't as peaceful as he, it was more of a jumbled mess.

_Recall?_ She thought. _The second Night Fury he "recalls_"_ he's met his entire life? What's __that __about_! She decided to ask him.

"Oi, you. Don't go to sleep yet," she called out, only to hear a loud snore in reply. Her eyes narrowed. "If you don't stop pretending to be asleep," she began, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I'll grab your tail."

No response. Well, apart from another snore. That surprised her. Normally dragons were very partial to their tails and very private. They didn't let just _anyone_ touch them. Toothless didn't even let _Hiccup_ touch his tail unless it was completely necessary. Most found that they felt their tails precious and _never_ let anyone else anywhere _near_ them.

So when she started to move towards him, she was surprised to hear another snore emanate from his chest. _Maybe he really is asleep?_ she asked herself. _No one falls asleep that fast..._

Unfortunately for Toothless, she was right. And as she moved closer and closer towards him and began to walk around to his tail, a cold sweat enveloped him. _Damn it she's serious! h_e thought before he decided to call it quits."Okay _fine,_ I'm awake!" he whispered furiously as he rose to his feet and backed away, legitimately scared, pulling his tail out of reach and into the safety of behind him. She laughed evilly before returning back to her position.

"Lie to me or deceive me again, and I _will_ go ahead and do it," she said with a smirk and he stiffened awkwardly. He definitely did _not_ want that to happen. "Well, now that you're awake, I wanted to ask you something, something regarding what you said earlier." His ears perked up.

"Go on," he said as he walked over to the fire-pit and stacked some more wood on top before lighting it again.

"Well, you know how you said that I was only the second Fury you recalled you'd met in your life?" she asked and Toothless nodded, albeit he was unsure of where she was going with it. "Okay. I want to know what you meant by "recalled"."

Toothless then sighed deeply before relenting. He might as well tell her because, after all, it _might_ just get her to stay long enough for them to help fix her wing. Now that she was curious he was sure that she wouldn't just up and leave. "It's a long story."

"A little cliché, but I have time," she said with a smile. Toothless sighed again. "Please?"

"Fine," he grumbled as he began to tell her of the Red Death, and how he escaped, steadily leaving out all the details to do with Hiccup and humans. He still didn't trust her fully.

* * *

By the time Toothless had finished telling his story, the fire had burnt out once again. But nonetheless, Acacia was amazed at his isolation. Not knowing who you were or even how long you were enslaved for was a serious detriment in one's life.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but where have you been all that time since?" she asked him but he shook his head with a mischievous smile.

"You didn't trust me enough to tell me your own _name_, what makes you think I'm going to trust you and open my life to you?" he asked. Acacia's face drooped.

"You're right, sorry about that. Will you tell me the rest of the story if I stay?" she then asked, hope in her eyes. Toothless smiled triumphantly.

"Depends, you'll have to let us fix that wing of yours too."

Acacia pouted. "Fine."

"Good," Toothless smiled before laying down in the sand. "Oh and Acacia's a mouthful so I'm just going to go through the process of finding a nickname for you," he added, earning a growl from her.

"No way! My name is just fine!" she exclaimed before Toothless shook his head with an immaculately mischievous smile. "You're a real ace, you know," she grumbled before Toothless shouted out, startling her.

"Ace! That's _perfect!_ Acacia, Ace. It works, too! All right, I'm going to call you Ace," Toothless resolved, earning himself another growl_. _

"Whatever..._Toothless_! Your name's so stupid I don't even have to make up a nickname to insult you," she retorted, but he could only laugh at her futile attempt to exasperate him.

"Goodnight, Ace," he chuckled again, narrowly avoiding the stone that she'd thrown at him. Soon enough he began to fall asleep and Ace was left to her thoughts.

_Ace... I kind of like it, _she thought with a smile. She'd never let him know, though.

* * *

Not long after that, Ace had fallen asleep peacefully, and she slept peacefully the entire night. But now it was morning, Toothless was hunting fish for breakfast, Praze was trying to look at Ace's wing, and she was resisting in the most _utmost_ fashion of hiding up a tree.

"Acacia, would you please come down?" Praze asked the scowling female Fury.

"No," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him. "My wing is perfectly fine, see?" she asked, holding up her good wing.

"Yes, I see," Praze replied as he rolled his eyes. "Now let me take a look at your _injured_ wing..."

"No."

"Acacia... Toothless told me I had to fix you up and regardless, you need fixing up. Please? Why is that so difficult?" Praze called back, getting exasperated.

"I don't care what Toothless said, _I_ said NO!" she yelled back as she laid against the trunk of the tree, the branch she was on _barely_ supporting her weight. Not that she weighed much more than an average Night Fury, her physique was that of a fit dragon. It was just that the branch was simply _too thin_.

Praze sighed before he noticed the slight creaking sound the branch made before his eyes widened. "Acacia!" he called out as the branch snapped and she began to fall. However, thankfully, her fall was cushioned by a black mass.

"Ow..." Toothless muffled through a mouth full of fish.

"I'm so sorry!" Ace exclaimed as she quickly hopped off him and helped him up. "Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that," Toothless replied as he put down the fish. "Do you know what could have happened if I hadn't have been there to cushion your fall?" he asked. "You could have been in a _lot_ of pain if you'd landed on your wing, then you wouldn't be able to fly for a _much_ longer time," he said before turning to Praze. "I thought I told you to take a look at it?"

"She's too stubborn," Praze muttered with a sigh. "Don't yell at me, it's her decision."

"Fine," was suddenly heard from Ace's mouth.

"_Fine_ what?" Praze asked, confused.

"Fine, I'll let you look at my wing," she replied with a weak smile. "I just didn't want you to look at it because I don't like being hurt, and I knew that putting the bones back in place would hurt. However, I know that it would become more serious the more it stays like that, so just this once I'll let you look at it."

"Good," Toothless said, smiling happily.

"Finally, some logic from you," Praze said as he walked over to her. She ignored his comment as he walked around to her side, telling her to hold still.

"Are we doing this now? Here?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Yes Ace, the sooner the better," Toothless replied and she narrowed her eyes at him. Meanwhile, Praze was confused.

"Uh... Ace?" he asked and Toothless nodded with a smile, making Ace growl at him.

"Yeah it's my nickname for her because _Acacia_ puts a strain on my mouth," Toothless replied with a flat expression.

"That's bull!" Ace exclaimed, making him laugh at her sudden outburst before she turned to Praze. "He just wants to annoy me, don't listen to him," she said to him as she eyed Toothless.

"It's fine, I'll just call you Acacia," Praze replied.

"Thank you," she replied with a smile before turning to Toothless and poking her tongue out at him. "See?" she asked him. "Praze is polite, and calls me by my name!"

Toothless looked away with a smirk. "I'm still going to call you Ace-"

"-TOOTHLESS!" she exclaimed loudly, scaring the life out of Praze as Toothless let out a mangled gasp and jumped to hide behind a tree.

"I brought you fish-" he began an attempt to atone before a fish hit him square in the face; poking his head around the trunk was a bad idea.

"You're so _thoughtful_," she replied, watching as the fish slowly trailed down Toothless' face and revealed a frown of displeasure.

"You're welcome," he replied emotionlessly and Ace burst out laughing, with Praze smiling slightly at the commotion. After a few moments, Ace turned back to Praze.

"Alright," she said, taking a deep breath, "please fix me up."

"Will do," Praze replied before sighing solemnly. She was about to be in a lot of pain, so he hoped she would bear no ill-feeling against him afterwards. "This'll hurt."

"I know," she replied before shutting her eyes tightly. "Just get it over with."

And so, Praze began. He started with the end of her wing; moving his paws to the junction between the two end bones and quickly snapping them in a certain direction. Surprisingly, Ace remained motionless. No tear shed, no scream or flinch from pain. Nothing. She just... _endured_.

Toothless just sat and watched, wincing as Praze yet again relocated another bone in her wing. He was amazed at Praze's abilities and knowledge of healing, as well as Ace's resistance to pain. He made a mental note to ask the both of them questions about their respective qualities.

_Pop_. That was the last one and Praze sighed in relief. It was over. _ Done, _he thought with a small smile. "Alright Acacia, now could you please flex your wing for me?" he asked and she did so, stretching it out and feeling relieved at the prospect of free movement once again.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly, a wide smile on her face as she began to stretch her wings out. Praze's eyes widened.

"Wait up! You don't want to be flying anytime soon, ok?" he asked her as he held his paws towards her as if to say 'stop'. She slowly pulled her wings back to her body with a small frown on her face, and was confused. "Look, your wing has been like that for more than a week, so the muscles around the dislocated areas would have been strained at _very_ bad angles. If you try to fly as you are, with those muscles supporting half of your weight, you could very well end up with an injury that will leave you flightless for the rest of your life."

After that extended explanation, Ace and Toothless were both shocked. "Well... how long do you think I'm going to be grounded for?" she asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Praze sighed as he glanced at Toothless.

"Well... anytime between a month to three," Praze replied and Ace gasped.

"_That _long?" she exclaimed. Praze nodded.

"Anytime sooner than that and you'll tear the muscles; an un-healable injury. I would recommend not flying until at least two months because they will be fully healed by about three and if you fly after one, you'll strain them and increase the overall time it'll take to recover," Praze explained. "The best option for you is two months if you don't want to be stuck on the ground for three. That's the least amount of time I'm willing to give you."

Ace seemed to be thoughtfully pondering before a condescending glare appeared in her eyes. "The least amount of time _you're_ willing to give me?" she scoffed. "You can't force me to do anything..." she trailed off with a smirk.

"With your health and safety in mind, if you attempt flight anytime before the two month period is up I will render you unconscious," Praze replied flatly as Ace was about to laugh before she noticed the emotionless glare in his eyes. Something told her that, despite their obvious age and size difference, he was completely capable of doing so. Despite his youthfulness, he would do it without remorse. After all, it _was_ for her benefit. So she came to a decision.

"Fine," she huffed.

"Good," Praze said simply. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding."

Toothless was sitting back in both amusement and awe. However, he was getting hungry. "Ok, now that you two have finished bickering, may we please eat some fish?" he asked. That was a mistake. He then found himself with another fish to the face.


	8. Part One: Where the Mirror Converges (7)

****P********art One - #********7 ********Where the Mirror Converges****

* * *

After a week, Toothless, Praze and Ace were getting along well. The latter's wounds were healing quickly; the muscles in her wings becoming stronger by the day. Toothless hadn't even experienced a single nightmare or vision since Ace's arrival. He thought he'd finally rid himself again, only for his hopes to be destroyed as mercilessly as the last time.

Because he thrashed about at midnight, yelling, screaming and carrying on with a cold sweat and tears raging. The cave ringed with the sounds of it, abruptly awakening Praze and Ace.

The two sat on the sidelines, the former only waiting for it to recede as the latter's heart raced. "What's going on!? What's happening!?" Ace whispered desperately to Praze, distraught.

"There's nothing we can do..." was all Praze said as he sat there, waiting for it to recede. Ace continued to stare in shock and dismay.

"This is horrible to watch..." she murmured, reminiscing that week she'd spent on Amicus so far.

She'd arrived there, battered and broken, to be healed by Praze and Toothless. After that she was given a flightless tour of the island, receiving help from the two males to get up the mountain and up to the meadow, before learning about Amicus. Then Praze had her submerse herself in water and begin to make motions with her wings as if she was flying. It was supposed to get her used to the notions of using her wings properly so that there would be no weakness when she took off and began flying again. Toothless had always been there to make sure she didn't hurt herself at all and was always teasing both her and Praze to the fullest extent of his ability.

Out of all that, she could see no indications as to just what she was witnessing before her. He most definitely wasn't ill, she knew that much just by how Praze was reacting, sitting back unsurprised and emotionless. But she could see through that and saw that Praze was irritated on the inside from what was happening and how helpless he was.

Much like Praze had before her, Ace intended to find out in the morning because Toothless was soon quiet. He'd cried himself to sleep.

"There's nothing we can directly do to help him," Praze replied as he faced her. "Don't even think about talking to me about it now, if you want to know, talk to Toothless. If he decides he trusts you enough to tell you."

With that, he curled into a ball near the side of the cave and began to drift to sleep. Ace soon followed suit as she looked over to Toothless, sleeping peacefully.

_I hope you're alright, _she thought to herself before she slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young man laid his head in his arms, slumped over a table.

"You don't understand my worry," he muttered to a young woman that sat across from him, his voice laced with anxiety.

"Maybe not," her voice soothed as she sat next to him, "I may still have my dragon here with me, but I feel your pain Hiccup."

The young man looked up, tears in his eyes. "I'm glad you're here Astrid... but... I'm just so worried about Toothless. What if his artificial tailfin breaks somehow? I might have used the strongest metal, forged with utmost strength and durability in mind, but that doesn't mean it won't break. He'll be trapped out there forever if it does, which is why I'm so worried." His head rested into his arms again, shoulders jumping ever so slightly, as Astrid moved to embrace him.

"You've got to trust Toothless, you know he's coming back," she whispered affirmatively before turning his head to face her. "Your ingenuity knows no bounds, Hiccup. His tailfin ain't breaking anytime soon, with your workmanship I know that for a fact," she added and she detected the slight trace of a smile upon his lips.

"Yeah... you're right. It's not as if anything bad is going to happen, I suppose I should lighten up a bit," Hiccup said as he too wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," he muttered as he pulled her lips to his and kissed her. After a few moments they broke apart and smiled congruently.

"I love you too," Astrid affirmed before their attention was brought to a ruckus outside. Curiosity and duty began to fill Hiccup's mind as he pulled himself out of Astrid's grasp and moved to the front of the house, shoving the curtains aside to see what was going on. "What is it?" Astrid called out to him from the table.

"I don't know," he called back, seeing a small group of people down by the port, "there seems to be a commotion at the port-" but he was interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Chief Hiccup! There's a stranger down by the port that just arrived with a small boat of a design I've never seen before," a deep voice boomed through the door. Hiccup quickly walked up to the door, unlatching it and opening, it to see the face of one of the vikings in the village. "Chief Hiccup, please come quickly," he called urgently as he beckoned with his hands.

"Just what seems to be the problem?" Hiccup asked him.

"Well it seems to be a foreigner, and he's armed. He has something attached to his side with the hilt of an axe! We think it may be metal inside the wooden part!" the villager exclaimed as Hiccup let out a sigh.

"That's called a sword, actually. Most foreigners don't wield massive battle-axes..." Hiccup then slowly trailed off as he realised that was beside the point. "Alright, I'll go down there and have a chat with this foreigner." With that, the villager nodded and made his way back down to the docks as Hiccup grabbed his dagger before inserting it into the sheath on his forearm. He then grabbed his flame-sword and attached it to his side before taking a deep breath and looking to Astrid, who'd heard the conversation between Hiccup and the villager.

"Please be careful," was all she said as Hiccup smiled to her.

"I always am. I'll be back before you know it."

Hiccup then pulled the door shut behind him and he made his way down the path that took him to the docks. From afar, he could see the flames of the torches that he called 'lamps' that led the way through the streets. Whilst Toothless had been gone, he found himself with a lot more free time. So, he put that to good use by inventing a new source of light for the village at night, in the form of 'lamps'; lanterns that sat atop a pole of wood that burned Zippleback gas much the same way as Hiccup's sword.

Yet as the lamps flickered in the wind, Hiccup approached the docks and began to weave his way through the crowd. Suddenly he found himself in front of the villagers and before him was, undoubtedly, an intimidating figure.

It was a young man, roughly Hiccup's own age, yet was slimly built and taller. He wore no armour but a loose-fitting white piece of clothing that was tied at the waist by a black cord of leather, the short drapes the shirt just overhanging his black pants that lead down to a thin pair of black leather boots. A sword hung at his left side and, judging by the shape of the scabbard, Hiccup deduced the sword was slightly curved.

Hiccup had heard about those types of swords. They were one-sided blades that were usually tempered at a high temperature and were indeed some of the sharpest swords in the world. Hiccup knew all this from the books he'd managed to gain from the foreign traders that come from all around.

The foreigner's face was hidden by thick black hair that, at the front, just covered his eyes. At the back, it was rather long and had been tied back. But as Hiccup was inspecting the young man before him, the foreigner's voice was heard.

"You must be the Chief, or leader, of this domain, are you not?" he asked him. His voice was of a cool and calm demeanour. Hiccup, intuitive as ever, could instantly tell that this foreigner meant no harm.

"Yes, indeed I am. How could you tell?" Hiccup replied.

"It's in your eyes," the foreigner simply spoke, and it seemed that the light of the flames had finally reached his face as the wind and blew out of his face. For a second, Hiccup could see his face clearly and was relieved. They say that you can tell a person's intentions and feelings by facial expression, even though some could hide it. But what Hiccup could see in this foreigner's eyes and face was _hope_. Hope, yet there was an underlying hint of urgency too. But there was another thing about the foreigner's eyes.

His right eye was an ice-blue, cold yet somehow revering. The left, however, was different. Its incandescence was best described as a deep virescent colour, as deep as the leaves of the forest in the midst of spring.

"Why don't you come with me so we can have a chat?" Hiccup asked, and the foreigner smiled.

"That would be much appreciated, thank you."

* * *

Now the two sat across from each other in Hiccup's house. Astrid had gone home to get some sleep, but not before leaving Hiccup with a warning about the foreigner, and saying something about how Hiccup was too _trustworthy_. Hiccup had merely brushed it off, saying that he had it under control. They both hoped so.

"So, why don't we begin with a name?" Hiccup asked as he let out a deep breath, leaning his head on his hand as his elbow supported it on the table. He looked outside quickly and noticed some of the villagers poking and prodding at the new craft that was down at the docks, and he made a mental note to apologise and tell the villagers off later.

"I'm Hakuryuu, nice to meet you," the foreigner said with a smile, before extending his hand out across the table.

"Likewise Hakuryuu, my name is Hiccup," Hiccup replied as he returned Hakuryuu's smile before his eyes were drawn to Hakuryuu's left ear. There was an earring, a finger-length chain of silver that led to a ball of emerald, but what was attached underneath the emerald was what caught Hiccup's eye. It was a single diamond-shaped black scale, perfectly shaped. Exactly the same as a Night Fury scale. "So what brings you to Berq, Hakuryuu?" Hiccup asked as he released his hand.

"Well, several things as a matter-of-fact," Hakuryuu replied before his face turned grave. "We shall address the most important matter beforehand as we have no time to waste." Hiccup's brow raised in confusion.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked Hakuryuu, now thoroughly concerned.

"What I mean by that, is that Berq will be targeted. Not now, but in the future. Your involvement with dragons has not gone unnoticed... and some people are determined to make you pay for it."

* * *

**A/N**

**Editing progress has made it this far now, hopefully, it'll turn into a smoother sail soon. Hopefully. Unlikely, but where there is hope, there is also some disappointment. Ha, yeah. Pessimism. /Realism. No, just realism.**


	9. Part One: Intrepidity (8)

**Part One - #8 Intrepidity**

* * *

Hiccup stared in shock at Hakuryuu, his face unable to portray the confusion, sadness, anxiety, and doubt inside him.

"What do you mean? What sort of people see the need to do such a thing?" Hiccup asked, unable to hold in the fear despite not knowing if the stranger's words were legitimate.

Hakuryuu sighed before running his hand through his hair, unconsciously ending the motion at the single black scale with a flick through his fingers. "I guess I should tell you about those people," he began, a small smile appearing in the corner of his mouth, "but first I would like to know one thing; have you encountered a dragon nest anywhere around here?"

Hiccup paused for a moment before becoming confused again. _He tells me about this threat, yet wants to ask such a question as that? _"Why do you want to know that?" Hiccup asked before Hakuryuu shook his head.

"Believe me, this is important. Have you encountered it?" Hakuryuu asked firmly. Hiccup relented with a sigh.

"As a matter-of-fact, yes. Both my dragon and I defeated the Red Queen and as you can see, the island of Berq is now populated with the dragons that were once held captive by said dragon."

Hakuryuu seemed to retreat into his thoughts for a moment, several expressions flashing across his face as he asked and answered questions in his head, before eventually turning back to Hiccup.

"Now can you please continue with what you were saying?" Hiccup continued, now becoming annoyed. "I thought you said that we had no time to waste?"

"That's irrelevant, Cheif, there's something far more important that I must address," Hakuryuu told him, no longer casual. "Was there a Night Fury?"

"Well, why would you want to know that?" Hiccup questioned, a puzzled look on his face.

"I can't help you if I don't know," Hakuryuu muttered. "If you don't tell me, I'll have to find someone else to answer my question."

There was a moment of silence as the two exchanged glances, Hiccup only now becoming suspicious of the foreigner before him.

_You're too trustworthy._

Hiccup leant back against the rest of the seat as he let out a sigh. "So," he began, "you want me to trust you, without any proof of who you are, so you can "help" us? If you want me to tell you anything, I need to know a _why_."

The stranger before him seemed to think for a moment, letting out a huff of discontent when he realised the chief would not back down. _Why would he, when he has his people to look out for?_

"I need to know because he was my friend. He might have escaped on his own, but since you're acting this way I can tell that's not the case. I simply want to know of his wellbeing," Hakuryuu replied. Hiccup was still suspicious, however, he agreed. He could almost hear Astrid's voice in his head.

"Fine, I will tell you, but you are not allowed to indulge this information with anyone outside of this island," Hiccup said and he received a nod from Hakuryuu.

Ever since acquiring dragons on Berq, the villagers all knew that there was no hiding it from the rest of the world when traders came by. However, the Night Fury was a fierce dragon and, listening to his son's request of keeping Toothless hidden, chieftain-at-the-time Stoick decreed that no one was to mention Toothless. Hiccup continued to uphold this decree. Of course, he would, as it was of his own devising.

"Alright then," Hiccup began, before abruptly getting straight to the point, "he's my dragon. During a raid, I shot him down before finding him out in the forest. I was going to kill him, but something stayed my hand and I released him. After that we kinda just became friends, I don't have time to tell you the whole picture now. I need to know if my island is in danger."

However, Hakuryuu was now at a loss for words, his face twisted with many emotions.

"What sort of eyes does your Night Fury have?" he asked, and it seemed that there was plenty of confusion going around on both parts, going back and forth. Hiccup sighed exasperatedly.

"WHY!?" Hiccup exclaimed, causing Hakuryuu to jolt back slightly in shock. "I'm sorry, but why do you need to know!?" he asked again, returning to his usual meek self yet retaining his authoritative nature.

"Because," Hakuryuu explained calmly, "Night Furies have special eyes. It's almost magic, but it is very rare for any two Night Furies in existence to have the same eye colour. By you telling me what eye colour your Night Fury's eyes are, you're telling me if it's my friend or not." Hiccup's eyes widened.

"You mean there are more Night Furies!?" he exclaimed, endless possibilities going through his mind.

"Yes," Hakuryuu affirmed, "excluding myself, I've met three. Now could we please get back to the point; what colour eyes does your Night Fury have?"

Hiccup sighed as he leant back again. The fact that there were more Night Furies in the world had completely blown his mind. Perhaps their natural habitats were snow principles? That would make sense why Toothless and he had never found any other Night Furies; because they'd never found a snow principle. But Hiccup dismissed the thought from his mind. No other type of dragon had a natural principle and he was sure that it was the same for Night Furies as well. Aside from that, Toothless, out of the seven or so years he'd been in Berq, had never seemed to complain about their sun principle.

"He has... emerald green eyes," Hiccup said, and Hakuryuu's eyes widened.

"That's him! I've finally found him again!" Hakuryuu exclaimed as he jumped up into the air. "It's been nearly ten years, but I'm sure he'll remember me!"

Hiccup looked at him strangely. "Just who exactly _are_ you? How do you know Toothless?" he asked, and Hakuryuu returned his strange glare before Hiccup understood the foreigner's confusion. "Oh, Toothless is the name I gave him. I noticed he didn't have any teeth, made a comment, and it kind of stuck. Despite quickly learning that Night Furies have retractable teeth."

"You mean to say that you don't know his name?" Hakuryuu asked Hiccup, now smirking slightly.

"You gave him a name when you knew him already?" Hiccup questioned and Hakuryuu shook his head.

"No, I mean the name that his parents gave him. Night Furies live with their parents until they decide to leave, so their parents give them names," Hakuryuu replied, almost as if it were the most common knowledge in the world.

"And how would you know what his name is, it's not as if you can speak their tongue," Hiccup replied with a laugh, knowing dragons indeed had their own language. He'd seen many times where dragons were obviously communicating with one another.

"Oh, but I can," Hakuryuu replied, stopping Hiccup dead in his tracks. "It's called dragonese, and as far as I'm aware, I am currently the only human able to speak it. I can prove it to you too."

Hiccup retained a sceptical glare as he stared into Hakuryuu's eyes, trying to make sense of it all. "How?" he simply asked and Hakuryuu's face twisted into a grin.

"I'm sure you're aware by now that dragons can understand humans, right?" he asked and Hiccup nodded. "Well, would you like me to demonstrate? I'm sure there's a dragon I can talk to _somewhere_ around here..."

* * *

"Hiccup...what do you want?" came the voice of a still-sleepy Astrid as she stood at the door to her house, Hiccup standing enthusiastically with Hakuryuu in tow.

"We need to borrow Stormfly!" he whispered furiously, not being able to hold in his physical excitement as he began to tap his face with a goofy grin on his face.

"...Why?" she asked, again, fairly sleepily.

"Don't ask! If you want to come along and watch, you can. Hakuryuu can speak their language!" Hiccup exclaimed excitedly.

Astrid stood at the door and stared at him as she tried to understand just what he was saying. After all, she'd just been woken up sometime _very_ early in the morning. But when she finally realised her eyes widened.

"Stormfly!" she called out to her dragon, which was sleeping just inside. Soon enough the Nadder arrived at the door and peered out suspiciously at Hakuryuu.

"Oh! A Nadder!" Hakuryuu exclaimed enthusiastically with a smile on his face. "Hello! Nice to meet you, I'm Hakuryuu," he introduced.

Stormfly just seemed to stare at him for a moment, not understanding what was going on. But she could tell something was off with Hakuryuu.

"Stormfly, he can actually talk to you. He speaks your language," Astrid said, Stormfly only now becoming interested.

"So, you can speak dragonese, hm?" she asked Hakuryuu, who only smiled.

"Yes, I can," Hakuryuu replied, his smile only growing in amusement as he watched Stormfly's eyes widen. Hiccup and Astrid could only sit and watch in wonder. Astrid, having only been woken, was slightly simple-minded. Hiccup not so much.

"Ok, I need solid proof. Ask Stormfly something like... like ..." Hiccup trailed off as he realised he had nothing to say.

"Something like... what I ate for breakfast today!" Astrid exclaimed before adding, "Well, yesterday. But still! Stormfly was with me when I had breakfast!" Stormfly didn't need telling twice.

"But... she didn't have any breakfast," Stormfly replied.

"She had no breakfast," Hakuryuu said, shocking Astrid. "Now Stormfly, I have a question for you," Hakuryuu began and Stormfly shifted her head slightly.

"For me? Why me?" she asked him.

"Because you were a part of the Red Queen's nest, were you not?" he replied as she nodded her head. "Ok, the Night Fury. What is his name?"

Stormfly seemed to ponder a moment as Astrid and Hiccup both stared in confusion. "I don't know," Stormfly finally replied. "I don't know what his name used to be, none of the dragons held captive do, because we were all in captivity for so long we forgot. The Red Queen brainwashed us nearly ten years ago."

"I see..." Hakuryuu trailed off as he began to think.

"What did she just say?" Astrid asked.

"She doesn't know because they all forgot their names when they were in the Red Queen's nest due to the brainwashing," Hakuryuu replied. "Would you all like me to tell you his name?" he then asked, and everyone became surprised.

"Toothless' name? How do you know it?" Hiccup asked, suddenly becoming suspicious. Hakuryuu sighed as he thought about it once again.

"Because, most Night Furies are named for their eyes. Not all, but a lot of them are. It's what defines them," Hakuryuu started, gaining their attention. "This... Toothless' ...name, is actually Silva. In ancient dragonese it means "Forest", so he was named after his emerald eyes in that way. At least that's what he told me, anyway."

There were several moments of silence that ensued.

"You know Toothless? How? And now that you say it... I do believe the name sparks something in my memory," Stormfly murmured.

"Really? That's good. I'm glad you're starting to remember something," Hakuryuu replied with a smile.

"What did she say then?" Hiccup asked him.

"She asked me if and how I know Toothless, and that the name sparks in her memory," Hakuryuu replied, not taking his eyes off of Stormfly. "Okay Stormfly, I'm going to tell you something and I want you to think really hard..." he began and Stormfly nodded her head. "Alright. Do you remember...another Night Fury besides Silva, or Toothless, that was in the Red Queen's nest?"

Suddenly, Stormfly's eyes narrowed into slits and she let out a piercing roar, scuttling backwards into a wall.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!" she cried out in pain, clutching her head in-between her wings.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Hiccup then yelled, unsheathing his fire sword and lighting it as he pointed it at Hakuryuu.

"Stop," Hakuryuu replied calmly, grabbing onto Hiccup's lit flame-sword with bare right hand. Hiccup and Astrid both stared in shock with their mouths agape before Hakuryuu turned to Stormfly and yelled out to her, "It's just the veil of brainwashing lifting, in a few seconds the pain will stop and you will recover your memories," and within a few more moments he was right. She stopped struggling and got up from the floor, her eyes narrowing at Hakuryuu.

"Just who are you?" she asked as she advanced towards him, a fire in her eyes. However, Hakuryuu stood his ground.

"Thea, stop. Let me explain-" Hakuryuu began but Stormfly cut him off.

"Don't "Thea" me, whoever you are. My name is Stormfly now! I may remember my past but that is the past! I don't remember _you _at _ALL._ How do you know me!? How do you know Toothless!? How do you know Viri!?"

"_STOP!_" Hakuryuu yelled, finally losing his calm. "IF YOU GIVE ME THE CHANCE I CAN EXPLAIN IT TO YOU!"

Silence ensued once again, both Astrid and Hiccup feeling lost in the wake of what just occurred, having no idea of the conversation that just took place between Hakuryuu and Stormfly.

"_FIRSTLY_," Hakuryuu yelled, continuing his anger as he took his hand off of Hiccup's sword and placed it onto Hiccup's forehead. Surprisingly, it was not burnt, but only warm. But suddenly, Hiccup cried out, a sharp pain in his head as if it were being split in two. "We can't have anyone being incompetent!" Hakuryuu exclaimed as Hiccup suddenly stopped yelling. It didn't hurt anymore.

"What did you just do?" he asked Hakuryuu, who just smirked.

"Why don't you just ask Stormfly?" he grinned as Hiccup turned his head to face the Nadder.

"Stormfly?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup?" she returned and Hiccup's eyes widened further as he turned to Hakuryuu and pointed at Stormfly.

"HOW CAN I UNDERSTAND HER!?"


	10. Part One: Confessions (9)

**Part One - #9 Confessions**

* * *

A yawn emanated from Toothless' chest as he slowly began to stretch, groaning slightly as he peered at the still forms of Ace and Praze. He didn't want to wake them. Specifically Ace. He knew what came with that, for he could still feel chills from the terrifying nightmares the night before. The courageous act of telling her of them and their reason was too much for him to handle.

Then, Ace shuffled slightly and he held his breath as his eyes widened. _Please don't wake... please don't wake_... he pleaded in his head. He then let out a sigh when he realised she was still asleep. _Better get out of here before she actually does wake up,_ he thought, deciding to catch some fish.

He quickly moved outside the cave and onto the grass outside, cold and damp from the rain that must have fallen during their slumber. Spreading his wings quietly, Toothless performed a silent takeoff.

He turned back and looked at the cave as the first rays of the sun began to hit the wall, knowing that with Night Furies' heightened senses the glare would wake the two inside. _Whew... just made it,_ he thought to himself with a slight chuckle before his smile faded, and he slowly began to feel disappointed in himself. He knew he was helplessly petty and cowardice for not confronting his fears of Ace knowing who he was and what problems he had. It was true that the two had formed some form of coherence in the light of their mysteriousness; Toothless still had no idea who Ace was, or why she was so beaten and broken when she arrived, near-death, on Amicus. Ace still had no idea just who Toothless was and had no idea of his recent past.

It was also true that the two had formed a friendship as well, but with that friendship came questions. During the week Ace had been conscious, multiple times had she questioned Toothless, as he did her. However, they would both dodge these questions, which lead to a feeling of distrust.

But then, with the events of the previous night, Toothless knew he had no choice but to confront his fears and tell her. He was just scared and he felt vulnerable and exposed and felt that he wanted to keep his secrets to himself as much as possible. He didn't even want to tell Praze, either. However, he knew that soon it was going to change. After a short flight from the top of the mountain to the beachside, Toothless laid down on the sand and allowed the feeling of the granules against his scales to soothe him. But as he laid there, he couldn't help but feel useless. As he laid there, he couldn't help but feel his existence was

After a short flight from the top of the mountain to the beachside, Toothless laid down on the sand and allowed the feeling of the granules against his scales to soothe him. But as he laid there, he couldn't help but feel useless. As he laid there, he couldn't help but feel his existence was a mere detriment and without benefit.

Firstly, there was Praze. How Toothless longed to help him find out more about his brother, but not for the life of him could he remember anything other than the incident with the Red Death. He remembered the words the Red Death spoke and had spent a lot of time contemplating on them. He even contemplated whether or not he was actually Viri, but had dismissed the thought. He dismissed it because he felt that the name was familiar, yet not his own.

Secondly, there was Hiccup and the whole island of Berq. Toothless had never wanted to leave Berq, especially not without Hiccup, and especially not out of a need to. He felt he was a lost cause. Whilst the presence of another Night Fury in his life had dramatically changed the number of nightmares he had from every day to, so far, once a week, he felt as if he was never going to get over the cold, harsh and incomprehensible fact that he murdered Stoick. He murdered Hiccup's father. If Hiccup were there, Toothless knew he would say something like "_You did no such thing! It was completely out of your control!_", but Toothless knew that wasn't the case. If he had tried hard enough he knew he could have taken back control of his mind and will, just like how he did on Berq for the last stand against Drago and his Bewilderbeast. That was what was killing him from the inside, and he knew that if he couldn't let that go... he was never going to be alright. He would always wallow in his depression and uselessness.

And thirdly, there was Ace. He hardly knew anything about her or why she was so secretive. It was her secretiveness that made Toothless feel as if he couldn't be trusted. On top of that, he thought he knew Praze. But in truth, Praze was the most secretive and detached out of them all.

And as Toothless watched the sun slowly come up even more from the horizon before him, he sighed a sigh of depravity. He was never one who would ever cry, and the nightmares didn't count. He could always hold his emotions while conscious, it had just been one of the things he could always do. However, the line between containment and freedom, that had once been so vividly clear, was becoming blurred. Everything was hitting him like a brick wall, and he was dangerously close to completely losing it.

Toothless began to get up, ready to catch some fish, just as he heard a noise behind him. He turned his head and, somehow unsurprisingly, it was Ace who was sitting there with a meek smile. He hadn't even noticed her arrive.

"How long have you been sitting there for?" Toothless asked with a slight smile, feeling somewhat awkward. He knew Ace couldn't fly, so he realised he must have spent a lot of time laying on the beach without realising it for her to get there by walking.

"As a matter-of-fact, I just arrived," she replied, walking over next to him before adding, "good morning."

"Good morning," he replied as he looked out to the sea. "I was just about to go catch us some fish to eat." He then looked at the ground awkwardly, not really knowing what to say next. Ace felt exactly the same, so she decided to be upfront.

"Toothless... are you ok?" she asked and Toothless' heart began to race as he looked at her. "Don't you dare say you are," she warned, a threatening glare in her eyes.

Toothless then sighed. He looked at the ground and tried not to make eye contact with her when he said the next few words.

"I'm not..." he trailed off, his heart pounding even more. "I'm not alright Ace," he admitted as he found the courage to look her in the eyes. _Those beautiful amethyst eye__s..._

"Neither am I," she said suddenly and Toothless' eyes widened before she turned to face the sea. "I'm very scared, Toothless. I've put both you and Praze in danger and I'm very scared. And I'll tell you why."

Toothless, surprised, then sat down as he waited for her to begin.

"Okay," she began, also sitting down, "when I was about four years old, I had a little sister. Her name was Leave, and she was two years old. We called her that because whenever we'd be doing something, she'd just up and leave at the most random of times. One time she left, it was during a rainstorm and because my father had died of an illness when I was about a year old, it was just my mother and I who had to run out after her.

"When we finally caught up to her, we found a male Night Fury holding her. He wore a malevolent grin that I can still remember to this day, and I remember him call out to us that he had finally found the mother, which I now know is because he could rape her, whereas with Leave and I he couldn't," she spat out the words, Toothless' eyes wide and mouth agape, before she took a breath and continued. "After that, he dropped her. He had been flying, and he dropped my sister, who was still flightless, into the landslide that was beneath him.

"My mother and I had cried out as we rushed to catch her, but the other Fury got in our way. He held my mother down and I rushed past him to try and find Leave, but before I knew it I was nearly drowning in the thick and disgusting mud. I felt as if I was going to die, but then something picked me up out of the mud. I thought it was my mother, that she had come to rescue me. But no. It was the male Night Fury, and his sick grin stared me down. I'd looked over to the edge of the landslide, where my mother's body was. He'd raped her before slitting her throat.

"I remember completely losing it, bawling with tears. He took in my scent before leaving, promising that he would one day return to give me the same treatment," she paused, shutting her eyes tightly as the tears in the corners of her eyes ran down her face. She then sniffed slightly before taking a deep breath and continuing. "When he left, I went to look for my sister again. I followed the landslide for what seemed like an infinite amount of time, constantly crying, before I finally found her. And... she was dead. She'd suffocated in mud," she stopped again, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I then lived my life for another seventeen years, alone, without anyone else. Then, out of nowhere, he came back. The male Night Fury who'd murdered my sister, raped and murdered my mother. Came to rape and murder me.

"He found me with the same malevolent grin on his face. I knew I had to run. I had trained my body for the past seventeen years to make sure he wouldn't catch me, but he did, and it was when I fought back and scratched out his right eye that he decided I was too strong for him to not kill me. That was when he pierced my jugular and messed up my wing. He set me adrift, and the next thing I know is waking up on this shore..." she slowly trailed off, nothing but the sounds of the ocean daring to interrupt.

A few moments passed in serenity, but not all was serene for Toothless' mind was a war front. Arguments presented themselves, solutions were dignified, and Toothless' clouded mind began to clear. Ace was in far worse position than he was, and he couldn't believe how he thought his case was bad. Her mother, murdered and raped. Her sister, murdered. Only for the same wretched Night Fury to come and try to do the same thing to her, seventeen years later.

Them Toothless suddenly felt a burden lifted off his shoulders, but not before it was replaced with a sense of natural protectiveness to care for the oppressed.

"A-a-and n-now... I've gone a-and involved... you and P-Praze..." Ace trailed off, completely bursting into relentless tears. "I-If he c-comes back-"

"-Then I'll kill him," Toothless stated, suddenly beside her. "I'll protect you, Ace," he said firmly, his resolve solid. She looked at him and she stopped sobbing, the tears still rolling down her face silently.

"R-Really...?" she barely whispered and he nodded with a smile on his face.

"Of course," he replied, and he had to fight a sudden urge to lick the tears off her face, so he looked out to the ocean once more. "If he even shows one foot on Amicus, I will make him suffer for the pain he has caused you," Toothless affirmed and Ace didn't know what it was, but something inside her clicked and she smiled incredulously.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and embraced him, her cheek slightly rubbing against his. "I don't know how I can repay you enough!" she continued to sob.

Toothless simply wrapped his wing around her in return, his heart racing from the sudden contact before whispering to her, "You don't have to repay me... and if you want to know, I will tell you who I am."

She then raised her head and she looked into Toothless' eyes with an enthusiastic glare in her own, their faces barely centimetres apart. "Really?" she asked once more, the closeness making Toothless' face heat up.

"Well, you told me your backstory, so it'd be plain rude for me not to do the same," he replied with a slight smile, and Ace smiled widely once again.

After that, Ace had finally realised the position she was in and moved off of Toothless to allow him some personal space as he began to tell her the true story about how he defeated the Red Death.

"Actually... the story I told you before wasn't entirely true. I actually received help from..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath, "... humans." Ace certainly looked surprised, but a smile quickly returned to her face.

"Humans, hm? My mother had always told me that humans were dangerous, so how exactly did that come about?" she asked, and Toothless smiled widely for the fact that she didn't judge humans with the same prejudice as she did for him when she first arrived.

"Well, it begins quite peculiarly, with me leading the raid on the humans' island to steal and plunder under the Red Death's brainwashing, of which you already know. However, this time, I was careless. I got shot down, and in the process, I lost half of my tailfin," he said, and Ace began to look behind him at his tail. "Nope," he said simply, moving his tail out the way as a frown came upon Ace's face.

"Why can't I see it?" she pouted, but Toothless just grinned.

"Because, I said. You can have a look at it later... if I feel like it," he finished the sentence cheekily and Ace narrowed her eyes before pouncing at his tail. However, just as she was about to grab it, he pulled it out of her reach.

"Nope," he stated with a condescending grin, "not happening."

"Yes," she contradicted. "Remember? I said that if you lied to me again, I would grab your tail. You lied the first time you told me your story!" she exclaimed, jumping at his tail once more. And again, he pulled it out of her reach.

"Can we not just do this later?" he asked in exasperation, using the dragon equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to know about my past?" he added, and she sighed. He had her there.

"Fine," she pouted, sitting back down on the sand beside him. "But I'm going to grab your tail and look at it later no matter what, so nothing's changing there." Toothless wasn't sure whether or not it was the fact that she sounded so stern and sure about it or that she was actually going to grab his tail without mercy that made shudder.

"Alright," he said as he too sat back down on the sand, "shall I continue?" He received a short nod from her and he smiled. "Ok. Let's go back to the part where I was shot down.

"It was one of the humans that did it, during the raid. He just got a really lucky shot on me, and I ended up being trapped for the most part of the night, before the human that shot me down finally found me late afternoon the next day. He'd approached me, alone, with what I can best describe to you as artificial claws. He was going to kill me, but not before something changed in him. He couldn't do it. Instead, he began to cut through my bonds and released me. I was skeptical and fearful for my life at first, being under the control of the Red Death, so I pinned him and roared in his face. But as I began to take off back to the nest, I finally realised that I could not fly. As hard as I tried, I could not do anything, and I ended up getting myself trapped in a large cove.

"After another day or two, the human came to the cove. He brought a fish with which to offer me, which I ate rather profusely, as well as a thing that he was able to record information with. I remember tentatively trying to take the fish from him the first time with my teeth retracted, and that was how I got the name "Toothless". Under the Red Death's control and brainwashing, I lost my birth name and I was always referred to as "Night Fury". Anyway, the days went by with him not doing much other than finding ways to interact with me before one day he came back with something else. Can you guess what he brought back with him? An artificial tailfin.

"Now, this was about seven years ago, so he's made improvements on it since then, but I could never actually fly alone until a few weeks ago. So, long story short, we grew a bond together before some stuff happened and we ended up defeating the Red Death together, but not without some loss. The human, whose name is Hiccup, lost one of his legs. After that whole event, the island, known as Berq, became an island populated with the dragons of the Red Death's nest, and we learned to live together in harmony. Now here's the part you were waiting for..." Toothless trailed off as he took a deep breath, and Ace shifted next to him in enthusiasm.

"Righto then," he began, "Well, after the incident with the Red Death finished, things were peaceful on Berq for the next seven or so years, before another threat presented itself. A human by the name of Drago Bludvist..." he trailed off with a wince, before quickly regaining his composure at the touch of Ace's wing on his shoulder, "...a human by the name of Drago Bludvist, who captured and enslaved dragons by his will, was to kill off the rest of the dragons for his sick desires of revenge. On our way to negotiate with Drago, Hiccup and I found our way to an Alpha Bewilderbeast's nest, where we found Hiccup's long-lost mother and another few hundreds of dragons. He was a kind Alpha, I found that in the short period of time I knew him, until something terrible happened. Drago Bludvist arrived there, with his army of humans and dragons, to wreck havoc upon the nest. But that wasn't all. He brought his own Alpha Bewilderbeast to take on the Alpha. Which he did, but our Alpha stood no chance against the sheer brutality of Drago's Alpha, and sadly, he fell.

"All the dragons were bent to the will of the new Alpha, including me. But then... something happened..." he then trailed off, fighting back tears. He took a deep breath before turning to her and asking, "I take it you know what happened last night?" Ace nodded slowly, still completely immersed in the story. "Well, that's because of what... happened next..." he trailed off once more, still trying to hold his composure.

"What happened next?" Ace asked delicately, gently placing her wing around him again to comfort him. Toothless smiled at the contact and her comforting before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Well... Drago made the Alpha order me to... kill... Hiccup..." Toothless stated, making Ace's mouth open in shock.

"You were forced to kill your best friend!?" Ace exclaimed, a disgust directed towards Drago heard in her voice. "That is just sick..." she trailed off, shocked before she saw Toothless shake his head.

"I never killed Hiccup... but... I did something worse," Toothless sighed in dismay, sadness clearly evident in his eyes and voice. "His father... the chief of the village at the time... saw me about to fire upon his son and did the only thing a father could do..." he trailed off again as he felt tears come to his eyes. He quickly breathed deeply before looking at the early morning sky, the deep shades of orange lining the white clouds above them. "It was a direct hit. Hiccup's father didn't stand a chance..." he trailed off with a dismayed sigh once more.

Ace sat there silently, in saddened shock, as her shoulders dropped with empathy. "Then what happened?" she asked tentatively, looking at his saddened virescent eyes. He looked back at her in such a way that Ace knew it was something... terrible.

"Drago took control of me... and flew myself and every other dragon to Berq, where he began to destroy everything on it. Hiccup had no way to get there, all the dragons of Berq fell under Drago's Alpha's command, and Berq and its people were left defenceless. There was no hope left for Berq..." he paused, before a smile crept on his face, "... until Hiccup and his friends returned on the only dragons that were left in the nest; the hatchlings that refuse an Alpha's command.

"They all spread out across Berq, tasked with the job of distracting the Alpha as Hiccup flew up to me with Drago on my back. Drago boasted in saying that I was his now and that Hiccup should just _try_ to take me back. So, as stubborn as he always was, Hiccup did. He took me back and forgave me for killing his father, accepting me back into his life.

"This broke the hold Drago's Alpha had on me, so I tipped Drago off, but with my tailfin as it was I had no other option but to fall. Courageously, Hiccup dived after me and just in time he managed to get on me, locking my tailfin into position so that we could fly hard-up, scaling the large Alpha's massive body. However I wouldn't have been able to manoeuvre his spikes unless I could do this..." he trailed off with a smile as he motioned for her to look at his back. Then he released his spinal fins and one-by-one trailed their way down his back and tail. Ace gasped and her mouth formed an 'O' shape as she moved over to have a closer look at them.

"Wow..." she gasped, a smile beginning to grow on her face. "How did you do that!?" she asked in amazement, clearly captivated by them. "They're beautiful," she commented in fixation, causing Toothless' face to heat up slightly.

"I would've said they were handsome, but whatever works for you," Toothless replied flatly, earning a raised eyebrow from her as he smiled smugly. His smile then faded into an open expression before asking, "would you like me to open yours for you?"

Ace's smile returned as she grew excited again. "Really!? Does it hurt?" she shot at him and he chuckled lightly.

"It doesn't hurt, but let me warn you that it makes you feel weird," Toothless stated, motioning for her to face her back towards him.

"Alright then," she said as she complied and faced her back towards him. Toothless then moved forward and with his snout he pressed the pressure point in between her wing blades.

Ace instantly responded as he did when Valka released his own spinal fins; flexing all along her back as a pleasured moan escaped her throat. One-by-one her spinal fins began to release and she turned back and smiled. "That's so cool!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically spinning around in circles as she tried to look at her new fins. She then turned back to Toothless, who had been chuckling in amusement, before her face displayed a conflicted expression. "I want to test them out!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Well, you know what Praze said. You can't fly for another month or so," Toothless stated simply.

"I know," Ace admitted, her shoulders drooping in disappointment. "Can you finish your story now so I don't try to fly? Also, I'd like to know what happened after you regained control." Toothless smiled again as she sat down, ready to listen.

"Gladly," he replied, also sitting down once more. "Now... where was I up to...?" he thought aloud as Ace chimed in.

"Hiccup returned and you kicked Drago off when you snapped out of the trance before Hiccup got to you and you used your fins to manoeuvre the Alpha's massive spikes," she stated quickly, and Toothless smiled.

"That's right," he replied, before picking up the story again. "So after we flew up the Alpha's back, Hiccup took me up past on of the mountains on Berq before using a piece of something the humans use to cover themselves to cover up my eyes. At that moment, I put my full trust in him and I was flying blind, yet not blind at the same time for he _was_ my eyes. He did this to protect me from the Alpha's command, then we made our way to the Alpha with Drago on his forehead. But we had a trick up our sleeve. Hiccup had invented a suit that allowed him to glide like dragons and used it to fly to where Drago was as he spread Zippleback gas around using another of his inventions. After he flew past, Hiccup lit the gas with a spark and a large explosion forced Drago to slip and fall to the ground.

"Hiccup and I thought it was the end, so we came down to tell Drago he was defeated... but little did we know that he had a trick up his sleeve also. For when we reached the ground, Drago ordered his Alpha Bewilderbeast to cover Hiccup with ice.

"What happened next was one of the most panic-inducing moments in my life. I acted completely on instinct, instantly appearing before Hiccup to shield and cover him as we, in turn, were covered with ice. But... something happened. I could hear Hiccup beneath me, in the small amount of space he had under my wings, and he said, "Toothless, thanks for giving me a fulfilling life... if these are our last moments I want you to know that I would never have truly lived without you with me".

"After that... something snapped in me and I felt unrelenting rage towards the Alpha Bewilderbeast who dared harm Hiccup, and I felt something that I had never felt before. An immense amount of power surged within me, and the ice around me began to turn blue. I was confused, but after I shot the most powerful plasma blast I had ever shot to break the ice, I knew what it was. It was me. I was glowing blue as fire surged through my body and I felt as if I could do anything... so I turned to the Bewilderbeast... and I challenged him. The species destined to be the Alpha over all of the species... and I challenged him. The dragon who dared to threaten my home, friends and family. All I knew was that I had to protect them all, and to do that I had to get rid of the Alpha.

"For the first time, the Alpha spoke. He said, "You dare to challenge me you puny, insignificant insect?!", and I remember replying with the loudest roar I had ever produced before firing a massive blast into his face and I was surprised by the strength of it. It actually pushed him back, but he retaliated with a blast of ice in my direction. Which I quickly dodged, jumping onto one of the existing spires of ice, before sending another flurry of shots. All of which were direct hits. Then, suddenly, some of the dragons that had been fluttering around mindlessly began to fly behind me and started to shoot the Bewilderbeast with me. He was losing the fight.

"I shot another charged blast at him, seemingly much more powerful than before, which sent him backwards again. He roared a loud roar of anger as more and more dragons returned to my side and began to fire upon him. In a final ditched effort, the Bewilderbeast prepared to fire another blast of ice but not before I began to charge up one final shot. A shot that I will remember for the rest of my life. Because with that shot, I completely blew off one of his tusks. He was finally defeated and with one last roar, the Bewilderbeast vanished into the depths of the ocean. Berq was safe, Hiccup was safe, the dragons of the old nest became a part of Berq's dragons, and Hiccup became the new chief of Berq..." Toothless finished, taking a deep breath as he finally got it all off his chest.

Ace seemed to just sit there for a moment, taking it all in, before her mouth became agape once more and her eyes widened. "Toothless!" she exclaimed in surprise, "you're an Alpha!?"

Toothless turned to look at her meekly before smiling gently. "Was," he corrected, "I was the Alpha of all the dragons on Berq after gaining the title from the Bewilderbeast. However... I had to leave Berq after disrupting everyone from their sleep when I woke every night like I did last night, screaming and carrying on. I actually transferred my Alpha status to the most respectable dragon I know; Cloudjumper, a Stormcutter, who I could best describe as my mentor."

"Wow..." was all she could say as she sat there in amazement. "So that's why you're here on Amicus..." she trailed off in thought. After a moment, Toothless decided to ask her something.

"Say, Ace, do you remember when I asked you about why you didn't feel pain?" he asked and she turned to face him.

"Yeah... and I'm guessing you want to know the answer, right?" she asked, and Toothless nodded briefly. "Well... I grew up by myself. I had to learn to disassociate or I would never have let go of the murder of my mother and sister." Toothless's eyes widened as she said this, and he quickly looked her in the eyes.

"Ace..." he started, and she could see the glimpse of hope in his eyes. "I need you to tell me how you do that... I need your help so I can get rid of these nightmares! You can help me, as well as Praze!" he exclaimed, finally finding a firm base of hope on which to build his mentality on. "Please... you're both the last chance I have," he pleaded.

Ace was momentarily surprised, but she quickly regained herself with a smile. "I can't promise anything, but I will try my best to help you."

Toothless stepped back before he turned to the mountain quickly. "We should go get Praze now so we can get some fish and eat breakfast together," he said, just as a rustling sound was heard from the forest edge next to them.

"Don't bother."

"Praze?" Toothless asked in surprise as he turned and saw the younger Fury walk out of some bushes. In a moment, his expression hardened. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"I..." Praze trailed off, not finding the words he wanted to say. "I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I didn't leave when I realised you two were talking so I guess I was..." he trailed off again. "I intended to find you two after you left so we could get some fish, so I followed your scent here to find you talking and kinda just ended up eavesdropping. I'm sorry..."

"I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to. Ace is," Toothless replied. "I already told you my story, it's Ace's privacy you intruded."

Praze nodded before he turned to Ace and he bowed his head to the ground slightly. "I'm very sorry Acacia, I hope you forgive me," he said as Ace chuckled softly.

"It's fine, Praze, and just call me Ace," she replied as Toothless looked at her with a brow raised.

"I thought you didn't like being called that?" he asked with a smirk, causing a blush to form on her face.

"Yeah well seventeen years without anyone talking to you means you don't get to really hear what being called by your name sounds like, so I've decided I'd prefer to be called Ace," she replied flatly, turning to hide the blush on her face. "Not that it was because you made a good suggestion or anything, it just fits."

Toothless smirked once again. "Yeah keep telling yourself that," he jested smugly and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Um..." Praze began, the two older furies turning to look at him. "I... I'm not comfortable with leaving it at that. I'm not the type betray someone's trust without any form of atonement."

"Oh, Praze... it's ok. I said I forgive you," Ace said soothingly.

"I'm not a hatchling," Praze snapped suddenly. "I'm far from it..." he murmured with a sigh, somewhat relenting for his snap at her. "I'll tell you both my story... does that sound fair?"

"We won't force you to," Toothless replied and Praze smiled briefly. It was rare, but in a moment it was gone and a solemn expression soon took over.

"I would like to, however, I must have your word that your view of me will not change after tell you some... disturbing... events that have happened... ok?" he asked them and they both nodded. "Ok... so let me begin. I grew up in some sort of pack that was filled with all sorts of different species of dragons, with my mother and father as the pack leaders. I remember that since birth I was trained by my mother in healing and herbalism, as she was very insistent on me learning it, being a healer herself, and my father took me in as his apprentice to train me how I to fight so I could one day lead our pack.

"My early years passed quickly and before I knew it I was seven and my mother began to teach me advanced medicinal practices, whilst my father began advanced combat techniques with me. Whilst these were relatively hard tasks, I found them quite by easy and they came to me naturally. My parents said that their skills paled in comparison to mine, that I perfected everything they taught me. My mother always taught me to help those in need, and my father would always say, "Respect depravity, but always try to help those who have fallen into it."

"And I had fully abided by that quote until the peace was disrupted. The dragons of our pack staged a coup d'état and murdered my parents, establishing new pack leaders as if nothing happened. They did nothing with me... they murdered them when I was out doing who knows what when I should've been there with them!" he exclaimed, having to take a breath before continuing. "I arrived back to find they had both died in an "accident", which I believed fully until the daughter of the Nightmare who led the coup d'état made a stupid comment, revealing the truth to me.

"As you can imagine...the next..." he paused with a sigh, "...events...may depict an ugly scene. I instantly headed towards the new pack leaders to question them..."

* * *

_I stared at her, the comment sinking in and burning deep into my flesh. The Nightmare before me, who'd always teased and picked on me, suddenly made the worst kind of comment imaginable._

_"Come now Praze, you should have just died with your parents you lousy piece of shit," she'd said._

_"The hell is your problem? If I had been there to save them, they'd still be here today!" I retorted back, anger building inside me._

_"Ha! Don't make me laugh! If you were there with them we would have just killed you along with them! Don't you get it yet? Your parents were replaced, that was just a cover story to shut you up! We took them out!" she laughed wholeheartedly and I was just about ready to burst._

_"That's bullshit!" I yelled and I flew into the night air, directing myself towards the large fire at which the pack leaders were feasting and drinking. Within seconds, I arrived there to smell the reek of fermented fruits and dead meat. "Where are you Treeth!?" I yelled, landing by the large fire. Turning, I saw him just off and talking with another dragon. He saw me coming and motioned for the dragon to move away._

_"What is it Praze?" the Nightmare asked in an annoyed manner and I could smell his intoxication from his breath._

_"Did you murder my parents?" I asked him bluntly, and his grin faded. Everyone around me seemed to quiet down yet his smile returned again._

_"It's ok, everyone. We knew he'd find out eventually," he called out to them before turning back to me. "To put it simply, your parents were pack leaders long enough," he jested mockingly, turning to the rest of the group, "you've got to share, am I right?" he called out to them, many laughing in return as they began to continue talking and ignoring me._

_Words could not express the pure incomprehensible hatred I began to feel... and at that specific moment, I could hear my father in my head. __Respect depravity, but always try to help those who have fallen into it. __No... I thought. Respect depravity... but never forgive those who have fallen into it!_

_"HOW DARE YOU!?" I exclaimed, stopping the feast once again. I could barely contain myself from absolutely ripping everyone to shreds. "THEY CARED FOR YOU ALL NO MATTER WHAT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY THEM!?" I yelled, my heart beating fast as my claws twitched. _

_Treeth looked as if he was going to speak out of annoyance once again, but not before his daughter walked up next to me with a smirk on her face._

_"Aw poor Praze... you want your mommy? Do you? Well, you can't do a single thing! You should've seen the look on her face when we slit her throat! Her last words were, "don't hurt Praze..." HOW PATHETIC-"_

_The next thing I knew, her severed head was laying on the ground near her body, swiftly soaking in her own blood. My claws dripped with the stuff, my face emotionless, my anger still seething. Pure unadulterated rage flowed through my veins._

_The crowd grew very still, then shock began to resound as screams, whispers and murmurs could be heard. __A conflicted expression was worn by Treeth, who was just barely trying to comprehend what happened as his intoxicated mind was obviously deterred. His face then contorted in rage as he and other dragons roared and ran towards me, and I saw a blue glow surround me until..._

_Blank. My mind was vacated of conscious thought and I fell into a deep blackness, my body and primal instincts taking over through years and years of training. W__hen I came to, the next thing I knew... I was standing in the middle of a blood bath. Bodies were strewn everywhere, my mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood as were my claws dripping with it. Some bodies were mangled beyond comprehension, and I felt completely soaked. Soaked in red. Everyone was dead._

_With the adrenaline in my body fading rapidly, my body couldn't withstand the sudden loss of energy and I collapsed._

* * *

"I woke in the morning to find no one around, no surprise there. I'd killed everyone..." Praze trailed off as he looked to Toothless and Ace, silently hoping that he would still be accepted by them. "I... I don't even feel bad about committing such an atrocious act. Does that mean I've fallen from grace? Have I fallen into depravity myself?" he asked, the pure devastation underlying the question clearly evident. "Can I even l-live in my own hypocrisy?" he asked, his voiced laced with emotion despite his best efforts to keep it inside.

"Oh Praze..." Ace sympathised, only feeling sadness and pity for the young dragon before her. "You haven't fallen into depravity. Deep down, no matter how cold and detached you may seem, you _are_ a kind soul," she affirmed with a smile, moving over to the young Fury with his head in his paws, his breathing heavy. She then put a wing on his shoulder as she sat down next to him. "I believe that anyone who has the indecency to stage a coup d'état, against leaders who care for their pack's members no matter what, have deserved their punishment. You aren't in the wrong, Praze, though I wouldn't exactly say your actions were without fault. But... no one blames you for it after going through such trauma."

Toothless could only admire Ace for her loving sympathy as her kind words warmed his heart.

Praze sighed as he looked up, seeming to have calmed down. "I don't know when I became so existential..." he muttered, standing up. "You really think I'm okay?"

"Of course!" Ace enthused as she turned to Toothless. "You agree, don't you Toothless?"

Toothless then sat for a moment as Praze looked to him. "Absolutely, Praze. You can't let yourself be down for something so far from the truth. There is no way you've fallen from grace," he told him.

"If you say so..." Praze muttered, turning to face the ocean. Toothless and Ace then shared an understanding glance, both smiling.

"Praze," Toothless began, gaining the younger Fury's attention. "I think we experienced the same thing. The blue glow... I wonder what it is. Don't you? Is it a trait that's only applicable to us Night Furies as a species?"

He sat in thought for a moment before giving his answer.

"I remember my father telling me something about Night Furies having special traits that were only applicable to them, such as having different immune systems, as well as special abilities," Praze said, a thoughtful expression sinking deep into his face.

"I wonder, especially if your father was an experienced Night Fury," Toothless commented, also deep in thought. "Is there anything else your father found out about our species?"

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid the last secrets my father was going to tell me were never told, as the coup d'état was staged before he did so," Praze replied and Toothless smile faded slightly. "However, he passed on most of those secrets to Viri. That's why I'm so desperate to find him... my father even told me that Night Furies were the closest species to humans, the only differences, aside from the obvious, being that we have two hearts compared to their one. Well, we only have one heart but it operates as two. He even told me that in ancient times, it was believed that Night Furies could transform into humans."

Both Ace and Toothless were taken aback for a number of reasons and as Toothless was just about to ask a question Ace beat him to the punch.

"What do you mean by "transform into humans"?" she asked, obviously intrigued by what was being revealed to her.

"As in we can transform into humans. My father said that he even knew how and would tell me when the time was right... but never did. I'm afraid that all these secrets lie with Viri," Praze replied.

"Wait..." Toothless began with a conflicted look on his face as if he were trying to figure something out. "Does that mean that Viri could be human?" he asked and Praze nodded his head vividly.

"The only way you could pick him out would be his eyes and double heartbeat. You know... Viri was named for his eyes..." Praze trailed off, as if he were trying to picture them. "My mother would often describe them to me... he had heterochromia, Toothless. One luminescent blue eye, and the other which he was named for, a forest green. In other words, a virescent colour. Which is what "Viri" is short for."

"Wow... really?" Toothless thought aloud as he looked out to the ocean once more, imagining the opportunities and new knowledge he could gain.

"Yeah... and I know it's a lot to take in, but Night Furies generally don't have the same eye colour, either," Praze added, causing Ace and Toothless to look at him in surprise.

"Why?" the two asked at the same time.

"I don't know why. But have you ever come across a Night Fury that has the same eyes as you? We are the rarest type of species," Praze answered.

"That does make sense..." Ace trailed off as she glanced at Toothless, who seemed to be thinking with his back turned. A cheeky grin spread across her face as she silently told Praze to be quiet, whilst taking her wing back from around him. As she crept towards Toothless she gave a wink back to Praze, who just smiled as he realised what she was doing.

Then suddenly, she silently pounced.

Toothless, who had been deep in thought staring at the ocean, only just noticed with his ears pricking up. Then his eyes widened as he realised he felt a pressure on his tail.

Behind him, Ace and Praze were looking at his prosthetic tailfin in detail. "Would you look at that? That's some neat work on the material used," Praze noted as he clanked his claw against the thin aluminium brace underneath the leather. "Hiccup must be a really good builder."

Toothless, his face heating, slowly turned around to see Ace holding his tail just before his tailfin as Praze looked at Hiccup's prosthetic tailfin. She looked up to him cheekily and his heart beat even faster.

"Say Toothless," she began coyly, making him gulp inwardly, "would you be able to flex your tailfin for us?"

It was at that point Toothless fainted and Ace burst out laughing.

"Did he just faint!?" she laughed, putting a paw to her mouth to keep from absolutely losing it.

"Actually, that was me," Praze replied, still looking at the detail on the leather prosthetic. "I accidentally pressed the pressure-point on his tail."

"Oh," she muttered, disappointed that her actions were not what caused him to faint. "I bet you can't do that to me," she challenged, standing up and pulling her tail behind her.

"You're seriously challenging me?" Praze asked and she nodded her head. "Alrighty then..." he sighed, moving over to her. "So you just want me to knock you out?"

"Yeah," she replied, keeping her tail out of his reach. "Okay on three... one, two, three!"

_Thud._

Ace hit the ground softly as Praze chuckled. "There's more than one pressure point that knocks you out you know..." he muttered to himself with a light chuckle.

He then disappeared into the forest.

* * *

Toothless was pleasantly dreaming once more, and in his dream, he saw Ace's amethyst eyes staring out at him.

_Wow... _he thought, the deep purple intoxicating him.

With a loud cough Toothless awoke from the dream, a horrible smell filling his nose as he gasped. _"What_ is _that_?" he exclaimed, jumping up before tripping over onto the sand again. He looked to Praze, who held some sort of leaf that was burning before looking to Ace, who was still sleeping peacefully. Looking at her then reminded him of his dream and his face heated slightly, so he decided to take his mind off it by questioning Praze. "Is that what's making that horrible stench?" he asked, pointing to the burning leaf.

"Yes," Praze replied as he waved it around, the smoke from it slightly drifting in the wind. "It's a medicinal plant that is used to wake people from unconsciousness when you burn it, as the smell activates receptors in the brain." He then moved over to Ace as he lifted the leaf to her snout and she reacted almost instantaneously, jumping from her slumber and instead of tripping like Toothless did she barely managed to stay upright.

"What is that _smell_!?" she exclaimed, gasping for clean air as both Toothless and Praze laughed hysterically. "Praze that was cheating! No fair!"

"What was cheating?" Toothless questioned, not understanding what happened.

"Well, after I accidentally knocked you out when we were playing with your tail," Praze paused, noticing as Toothless draw his tail in closer to his body, before he continued, "Ace challenged me to knock her out as well. So I did, but she didn't realise there are pressure points all over the body that can be exploited, not just on the tail."

"You should have told me that! That's where the cheating is!" Ace exclaimed, trying to prove her point. Toothless just sat back in amusement as he watched before he decided to quote himself.

"When you two are done bickering, shall we go and get some fish?" he asked innocently, his expression flat, as the two stopped and looked at him then at one another. Then they both grinned and nodded to each other and Toothless' face dropped. _What have I done?_ he thought in despair.

"I bet it's pretty cold out in the water this early in the morning, eh Toothless?" Ace asked, a condescending smirk growing on her face as both she and Praze slowly began to move towards him.

"Now, now... guys..." Toothless began to plead, moving back from them. "It's w-was just a joke!"

"Maybe you should learn to _rethink_ your jokes from now on then," Ace replied smugly with a growing mischievous smile, steadily nearing him. It was then that Toothless decided they were too close, so he turned and tried to bolt into the forest but not before Ace retracted her teeth and grabbed onto his good tailfin with her gums, her jaw power easily keeping him in place as Praze grabbed hold of his tail. That was when they both began to drag him to the water.

"No- _PLEASE!"_ Toothless whimpered as he clawed at the sand in vain attempts to stop his movement.

Within seconds, he found himself being dragged along the warmer shallows before being thrown into the deeper part of the bay, completely soaking him in the freezing cold morning water. When he surfaced, he could hear the other two roaring with laughter.

"I am not amused," he said flatly, only adding to their laughter even more. He then rolled his eyes and used his wings to drench them.

Soaked, all three of them looked between another, then all sense of serenity was lost as it broke into an all-out war. Water flew everywhere as the three Night Furies tackled and wrestled each other until they grew tired, their bellies full of an obviously non-existent breakfast so they decided to come ashore once more.

"Whew, that was fun..." huffed Praze as he laid down, exhausted. "We should do that again, it's good to get some extra physical activity. I'm too lazy."

"Yeah, maybe once we've had breakfast first," Ace commented, also puffed out.

"Well I doubt we'll all share our past every morning, because that'd get boring hearing the same things over and over again, meaning I'll have some time to fish for us," Toothless retorted, breathing deeply to regain oxygen in his lungs. "I think it's about time to return to the meadow and get some fish for breakfast," he added, the others chorusing their agreement.

"Let's go then," Ace said as she sat up and began to walk towards the mountain.

"Hold up," Toothless called out, having an idea come to mind. She stopped and turned to look at him, wondering why he'd told her to stop. _Probably too tired to move,_ she thought to herself with an inward chuckle. Toothless then turned to Praze, who was just getting up. "Praze, do you think Ace can fly to get up to the mountain? It'll only be a minute flight, and I can be there to help her get up."

After a few moments of pondering, Praze gave his answer.

"Well, I kinda exaggerated her healing time, anyway," he began unsurely, earning a glare from Ace. "Your wings should be fully healed by about a month, and the minimum amount of time grounded is actually up. But if you fly now, your wing will end up taking about a month and a half to heal, so it's up to you."

Overjoyed, Ace began to let out her wings and she stretched them gracefully, grinning ecstatically as she did. Then, she began to release her spinal fins and as soon as they were out she bolted into the air in enthusiasm, satisfyingly happy that she could try them out after all.

"You know Toothless," Praze began. "You didn't do that for me-"

"You're fast enough as it is, and I don't want you being able to catch me so easily," Toothless cut Praze off with a cheeky smirk.

"You suck," Praze replied flatly. Toothless then grinned.

"I know."

* * *

**A/N**

**Well, this large chapter has now also been edited. When I've finished all the editing, I'll post the new chapter with a list of things I've had to change/fix.**


	11. Part One: Inchoation (10)

**Part One - #10 Inchoation**

* * *

"Come _on_ you two, hurry up already! Otherwise the sun will set before we even get there!" a young voice enthused.

"Praze, it's not even noon yet," a deeper voice responded flatly.

"Toothless you can't talk...you're moving the slowest. Praze and I are eager to get there yet you're just slowly trailing along," another voice retorted.

The large black dragon's emerald eyes twitched in response and a smug grin spread across his face as he looked up to the sky, admiring how the wind casually blew the trees and their leaves around. The swift rustling sound soothed him as he continued to view their surroundings.

They were going over a hill, with the only wind being around them because of the height they were at, where they could smell the fresh salty air and view the mirror-like reflectiveness of the calm ocean before them as the sun pierced the crystalline water to reveal a cerulean-tinged bed of sand. There was not a cloud in sight and the vibrant blue sky was all that could be seen.

After having their breakfast, the trio left the meadow atop the mountain to head towards the cave by the beach. After bringing it up during their meal, Praze had decided it was a fun thing to do for the day and Toothless and Ace agreed, though the latter slightly more profusely, being excited to explore the island more vividly with her wings restored. However, as they continued to make their way down to the beach, Toothless could not help but feel something growing within him. Perhaps it was instinctual, but he felt that whatever it was, it did not bode well; that it was something of malevolent omen. But, so as not to ruin their day, he dismissed it and decided to get a conversation going.

"So Ace, what are your thoughts of the island so far?" he called out to her, who was only a few metres ahead of him. "It's Praze's island by the way, he found it," he added, and the young dragon seemed to beam with pride as Ace considered it thoughtfully.

"Well, I think it's an amazing island," she replied, taking a second to view what stood before her as she inhaled the fresh air. "The scenery is absolutely spectacular, the water crystalline and calm, an abundance of fish and two great friends to top it all off," she finished with a grin, making Toothless and Praze smile widely.

"Well I'm glad you like it here, it's a pleasure to have your company," Praze replied as he eyed a tree before, without warning, pouncing onto one of the branches. "There are plenty of trees to jump around on too," he grinned.

"Yeah I can see that," Ace replied with a laugh. "We're in a Rain Principle, right?" she then asked, and the two nodded their heads. "Well, I never really understood what the Principles were, seeing as I've spent my whole life without outside influence. You'd expect me to be a little more wild, don't you think?" she added with a laugh.

"Well, to put it simply, just imagine a Principle as a season. Be it Winter, Spring, Autumn or Summer," Toothless said as Ace nodded her head, getting what he meant. "Basically, a Principle is the name for the area in which these types of weather reside. Forest Principles usually have Spring weather, Sun's have Summer, Snow's have deep Winter and Rain's have normal Winter. Each of the Principle's aren't restricted to their own weather, though. Back on Berk, where it's a Sun Principle, it snows a _lot_. It's just generally cold there, which is really unusual..." Toothless trailed off as Ace took in all the information.

"Well, that's what I had thought but at least you made it a little clearer for me," Ace said as she gave off another smile. "So, what type of Night Fury are you, anyway?" she then asked Toothless, who became puzzled.

"Type?" he questioned, and she nodded her head.

"Yeah, what is your natural Principle?" she affirmed, and he was generally confused.

"I don't get what you mean. Night Furies have natural Principles?" he asked, and she nodded her head as Praze joined in.

"Night Furies can only hatch in one type of Principle. Let's say you were hatched in say...a Rain Principle, Toothless. This means your parents would have had to bring your egg to a Rain Principle in order for you to hatch. It's generally a random choice as to which Principle you get, but the frequency usually goes from Sun, Rain, Forest, Snow in order of how often a Night Fury receives that type," Praze stated, and Toothless began to shake his head at all the information going into it.

"This is confusing..." was all he muttered as Praze and Ace chuckled at his confusion.

"I hatched in a Snow Principle," Ace stated, and Toothless and Praze gasped.

"A Snow Principle!?" they exclaimed congruently and she nodded with a chuckle. "No way!" Toothless commented. "I've never seen one before..."

"That's because the ratio of Snow Principles to the others is roughly a thousand to one, but it's not impossible," Ace replied. "The island I was raised on was in Snow Principle, and it only ever rained one time..." she trailed off despondently, and Toothless realised that Ace was talking about the night her sister left and...the unspeakable things that happened. He watched her looked at the ground with a glint of sadness in her eyes...and he smirked in defiance of it. He was going to _crush_ that sadness.

"You mustn't dwell on the past!" he yelled as he pounced on her, casting asunder the thoughts of sadness and detriment from Ace's mind as well as sending the two of them rolling down the hill, toothlessly nipping and biting at each other as they furiously wrestled for dominance. After several seconds of rolling they finally reached the bottom and came to a stop, only one Night Fury atop of the other; the _victor_.

"Who would've thought you'd get beaten by me, eh Toothless?" Ace grinned condescendingly as she pinned Toothless to the ground. He tried to wiggle free but her vice-like grip was unrelenting.

"You got lucky with the landing, next time I'll beat you," Toothless stated flatly but Ace was unconvinced.

"You're just a sore loser," she jested with a grin, infuriating the black mass beneath her. Without taking her eyes off him, she called out behind her, "don't you think so, Praze?"

In a few seconds Praze appeared in the trees above. "Oh yes definitely. Toothless wouldn't even be able to harm a fly," he replied as he turned away from them on the branch, receiving a glare from Toothless.

"Try saying that when I'm free, and I doubt you'll say it again," he threatened and a grin spread across Ace's face, unbeknownst to Praze. Toothless' and Ace's eyes locked for a second as the latter motioned to Praze with her eyes and head and the former grinned as he felt her weight lift off him.

"You're all talk Toothless, I can't believe you defeated an Alpha Bewilderbeast-" he began to tease but stopped as he felt a presence next to him on the branch. He slowly turned and much to his horror, the black dragon was sitting there with a smirk on his face.

"That's it, you're done," Toothless grinned and Praze tried to take off as quickly as he could, but to no avail. Toothless had caught on to the younger Fury's tail and had pulled him down to the ground, where the larger dragon pinned him with his stomach to the ground. "Now, what should I do to you?" he casually asked aloud as a cold sweat came over Praze. The younger dragon flailed frantically as he looked for a way to escape just as he saw Ace walking over to them.

"Ace! H-Help me!" he called out to her, but she just sat there and grinned with deviance.

"Nah, maybe next time you won't exaggerate my healing time," she replied and his eyes widened in horror when he felt a pressure in his sides.

"I wonder if you're ticklish, hm?" Praze heard Toothless' menacing voice behind him, and he began to wriggle furiously as he tried to get out of the larger dragon's grip.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!-" _he yelled before he was cut off by his own laughter, Toothless' paws digging deep into his sides. "_Nohoho, ah-STOP-hahah!" _he yelled out, frantically writhing underneath Toothless. After a few more seconds, Toothless relented and let go of him, and the younger Fury immediately jumped out from under him and to the safety of a tree branch. Not that it did him any good earlier.

"Next time you should watch what you say," was all Toothless said with a smirk on his face as Praze clutched his sides, shuddering from the vulnerability of being made to laugh that hard. Toothless then turned to Ace, who had been laughing the whole time the spectacle occurred. "Well, we now know that Praze is ticklish if he ever annoys us again."

"Hey! Says the one who's partial to their tail!" Praze retorted, earning another glare from Toothless.

"As if you _aren't_," he commented, causing Praze to smirk condescendingly.

"I'm not," the younger dragon replied with a smile as Toothless smirked in return.

"Prove it."

In response, Praze climbed down from the tree and held his tail out in front of Toothless, who was now skeptical of Praze's actions. So, he grabbed Praze's tail and inspected him and his movements closely. He couldn't note any form of nervousness whatsoever, but he remembered that he _had_ let Praze inspect his own tail when the younger dragon inquired about his prosthetic and without any qualms, either. Then an idea formed in his head and he let go of Praze's tail.

"Alright, now let _Ace _grab your tail and I'll be satisfied," Toothless stated and Praze shrugged his shoulders before moving over to her.

"Here," he said simply as he held out his tail to her before she took it. Toothless inspected the young Fury once more and found no notable differences in his manner. "See? I don't mind," he added as Ace let go. "It's just you, Toothless."

Toothless was still skeptical.

"I think it's to do with age; give it a few years and I bet you'll be just as partial as I am," he commented and Praze snickered at him.

"I doubt it."

Toothless just rolled his eyes as both he and Praze began to continue to the beachfront when Ace spoke up. "Hold on Toothless, how old are you?" she asked, receiving a puzzled look from him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just surprised it hasn't come up at all. You're in your late twenties or early thirties aren't you?" she asked and Toothless nearly burst out laughing.

"What!? What possessed you to think that? I'm _twenty-two_!" Toothless exclaimed and Ace's eyes widened.

"But I'm twenty-one! How are you so much larger than me?" she asked, shocked. Toothless and Praze could only narrow their eyes and tilt their heads in confusion.

"You know that we're both the same size...right?" Toothless asked, and Ace's eyes widened even further.

"How am I as big as you!? Maybe I'm just a little out of it because I haven't seen too many other dragons in my life before..."

"Yeah, maybe you're right on that one," Toothless chuckled and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Let's just get to the beach," she muttered as they continued on their way. "Now because of all that stuffing around it's noon already," she added, noting the position of the sun as it's heated gaze burned into them from directly above.

"What!? Really!? Let's get a move on then!" Praze exclaimed as he ran through the forest towards the beach. Toothless and Ace could only roll their eyes and the younger Fury as they were left alone in the forest.

"So what type of Night Fury are you?" Ace asked, reminding Toothless of their earlier conversation.

"Dunno," he replied flatly as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really remember where I was born so I really have no way of finding out."

"Really? That's unfortunate," Ace commented before something popped into her head. "However, I can turn my scales to white when I'm in a Snow Principle. I believe it's a camouflage function, so we could try out several Principles and see if your scales change to a different colour, though I'm not completely sure it's the same but it might be."

"That's incredible!" Toothless exclaimed, marvelling at all the hidden secrets Night Furies held. "How do you do it? I want to test it out right now. I might be a Rain-type."

"I just call Rain-types Pluvia. Out of the Ancient Dragonese translation. But anyway, to do it, I normally just think in my head "_I am snow" _and that does the trick," she replied.

"Ancient Dragonese?" Toothless questioned.

"Yeah, my mother taught me a few names like the names of the Principles. Rain is Pluvia, Sun is Sol, Snow is Nix and I'm trying to remember what Forest is...but I don't seem to-"

"-Silva," Toothless automatically replied. Ace looked at him with a curious smile and head tilted.

"Yeah, that's right. How did you know?" she asked, however he was just as baffled as she was.

"I have no idea..." he trailed off. "It stirs something in my memory though," he added thoughtfully as Ace shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh well. Anyway, are you going to try it or what?" she asked.

"Alright then, I'll try it..." he trailed off as he closed his eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, eyes still closed, he whispered, "any changes?"

"Nope."

"Dangit," he muttered as he opened his eyes and grinned. "At least I know I'm not "Pluvia". When I get back to Berq I'll be sure to test it out there as well." Ace stopped for a moment when he said that.

"Say, Toothless..." she began, gaining his attention. "I don't suppose...I could come with you to Berq?" she asked tentatively as a smile spread over his face.

"Of course you can! It'd be great for you to visit and meet Hiccup and some friends of mine," he replied as she shook her head, puzzling him.

"No...I want to stay there. I want to live on Berq..." she trailed off and Toothless finally began to realise the kind of life she had lead. Yes, of course Toothless had hardly interacted with his own kind before but Ace was on an entirely different level; she hadn't interacted with _anyone_. She was a dragon that had spent a life alone, without anyone there for her.

"Really?" Toothless asked and she nodded her head. He smiled. "Then of course you can."

On the inside, Ace was so overjoyed she almost began to cry. After living such a solitary life...the fact that she could live amongst others was nearly too much for her to handle and all she wanted to do was stay with Toothless. He made her feel safe; a feeling she had hardly felt throughout her life and especially not in the recent events that occurred before she found him. "T-Toothless-"

"Hurry it up you two! Or it really _will_ be sunset before we get there!" Praze's voice interrupted her before she could finish what she was saying.

"Thank you," she finished with a smile that Toothless could only reciprocate.

* * *

**A/N**

**HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY! Sorry this update took so long, it's just that I've been pretty darn busy. Please be sure to give me some feedback so I know how I'm doing ;) and the next chapter should be out much sooner seeing as I cut this chapter off. Oh well, see ya in the next and have a good one ;)**


	12. Part One: Trepidation (11)

**Part One - #11 Trepidation**

* * *

On the inside, Toothless' happiness and excitement levels were ludicrous. He didn't know why, but the fact that Ace was going to live on Berq made him feel insanely overjoyed. Whenever she smiled, it made him want to smile. Whenever she was happy, it made him happy too. All he wanted to do was spend time with her and have her in his company; all he wanted was to feel that feeling that he got whenever she was with him. He didn't know why, but the feeling he got when they were together made Toothless feel as if he were in pure bliss. But just what was that feeling? That was a question Toothless didn't know the answer to and he didn't care. So long as that feeling was there, he would be forever satisfied.

Ace, who sat across from him, had similar thoughts circling through her mind. Unlike the content male before her, she was much less content leaving it without an answer.

_Why_ was she so insanely happy that she could spend more time with Toothless? _Why_ did she get the ridiculous urge to smile whenever he did? _Why_ did she feel happy when he was happy? _Why_ did she constantly want to spend time with him, _why_ did just being with him stimulate such a happy and blissful feeling? Unlike Toothless, she wanted to know the answers. But as hard as she tried she could not figure out just what it was. Which was why she had such a conflicted expression on her face as the two made their way to the beach, where an ecstatically impatient Praze was waiting for them.

"What took you two so long?" the young dragon asked them, obviously impatient. Toothless and Ace could only chuckle at that.

"Like normal dragons, we took the time to walk instead of rushing ahead for no reason," Toothless replied and Praze poked his tongue out at him.

"Whatever, we're at the cave now so let's go."

The two older dragons just rolled their eyes at the comment as the three of them made their way into the cave. They noticed that beside them ran a small stream that followed the side of the cave and down into the sea.

Being in need of releasing all his youthful energy, Praze had challenged them to try and find the source of the water. Despite his previous anxiety, Praze seemed to have overcome his fear about the cave. He seemed to be ever-adapting, despite being silent most of the time. Either way, no sense of anxiety had befallen Praze for the entirety of the hours the three of them occupied the cave, exhausting their energy to the point where they all laid in the entrance of the cave in an attempt to restore some of it.

"Hey, would you look at that?" Ace asked suddenly and Toothless and Praze's eyes followed hers to the stream, where an eel laid dead on the bank of it. "Must've died somehow..." she trailed off, walking over to it.

"Woah, be careful," Toothless said, backing up as he did, "eels are poisonous."

Ace and Praze just looked at him funny before they burst out laughing and Toothless realised his mistake.

"They're not poisonous, are they..." he muttered as they both continued to laugh.

"Ha, nope," Praze laughed and Toothless could only shrug his shoulders.

"Oh well, it still doesn't make them any less creepy," Toothless muttered, earning himself a look from Ace. "What?" he questioned.

"You wouldn't happen to be scared of eels, Toothless?" she asked and his eyes widened as he momentarily stood still. Then he relaxed.

"No," he replied quickly.

"Oh really? Are you sure?" she asked, a smirk appearing on her face as a cold sweat come upon Toothless. _Stay calm, it's not as if she's going to_...but his thoughts trailed off, eyes widening, as she walked over to the eel.

"O-Okay keep that thing away from me!" Toothless exclaimed, backing up as his voice broke. Unfortunately, Toothless _did_ have an illogical fear of eels and was literally terrified as she began to move towards him, the eel in her mouth.

"What's wrong Toothless?" she asked with a grin on her face as she pounced at him, making him nearly trip over his own tail as he frantically scrambled to get away from her.

"N-NO! Stay away!" he hissed as he zipped around the cave, the cave that was resounding with Praze's laughter as he watched the chase.

"Come one Toothless, stop being such a hatchling!" Ace jested as she continued to chase Toothless before seeing him jump into an area that made her eyes narrow with determination. Then with one quick movement, she cornered him. Toothless' eyes widened as he realised that he was trapped and he quickly looked around for a way to escape...but there weren't any.

"Stay away!" he hissed again, his heart racing as she neared him.

"Not until you touch it," she commented with a smirk as she moved closer and almost dropped the fish with laughter when he pressed himself into the wall as much as he could to get away from it. "Come on Toothless, it's just an eel."

"No...please," Toothless begged and pleaded as he slipped to the ground, Ace's triumphant grin staring down on him.

"Just touch it..." she began and Toothless shuddered beneath her, "...or I'll drop it on you."

"You w-wouldn't..." Toothless trailed off as his eyes widened.

"I would," she contradicted evilly. "You have until the count of three. One."

"A-Ace, come on n-now, stop fooling around!"

"Two..."

"Pl..Please..."

"One."

There was some serene silence before Toothless' surprise left him and a scream rang throughout the cave when he realised that the slimy and disgusting eel was now on him.

"GET IT OFF!" Toothless yelled as Ace stood back, before she was down and out, laughing all the breath out of her. He writhed around in an attempt to get the eel off him as the two spectating laughed to their hearts content, until he grabbed the thing and completely launched it across the room. Then after the few moments it took for him to calm down he managed to see the humor in it all and just sighed.

"Honestly, Ace," he began, causing the laughing female to wipe the tears away and listen, "you're just the most meanest of all the dragons I know. No joke." She just seemed to smile even more.

"You're just the most boring of all the dragons I know," she retorted. "And the look on your face was completely worth it, you were completely scared out of your mind!" she finished with another loud laugh before calming herself down again. Toothless sat there with a flat expression. Unamused.

"Can we please not speak of this to anyone?" he asked with a sigh. "You can't let the dragons on Berq know I'm...not fond of eels."

"And why is that?" Praze asked innocently, a smirk on his face.

"Because it wouldn't do any good as they're also all scared of eels! There's literally no reason for you to tell them," Toothless replied, causing confusion to fall upon the other two's faces.

"But...why did you ask in such a way that suggested otherwise?" Ace asked him and he smiled slightly.

"Because I was messing with you," he replied simply. Ace's eye's narrowed.

"You suck."

_"You_ suck."

"You _both_ suck...let's leave it at that," Praze interrupted the two bickering older dragons as the two said bickering older dragons glared at him. "It's already past sunset you know, we should be getting some sleep."

"Stay out of this, otherwise I'll pin you again," Toothless stated simply. That seemed to shut the younger dragon up, despite him having a point. "But you're right, it is getting quite late. What say we camp here for the night?"

"Sure," was the response from the other two dragons and Toothless smiled.

"Alright. Either of you want anything to eat first?" he asked and they both shook their heads. "Well, goodnight then," he added and they smiled.

"Night Toothless," Ace replied.

"G'night," Praze followed. "See you both in the morning, maybe then we can continue to try and find that water source."

Even after all their searching, all that Toothless, Praze and Ace found was a small stream that lead from one of the cave walls. It was a big mystery to them, and they all secretly hoped that the cave led all the way up through the mountain where they also youth fully hoped there to be the water source.

"Yeah will do," Toothless replied, giving him a smile. "But you can catch us breakfast tomorrow. Deal?"

"Sure thing," Praze replied and with that, he slowly curled into a spot on the ground. Toothless soon followed suit, but not before he noticed that Ace was no longer with them. He looked around and noticed that her scent lingered around the front of the cave.

_Did she go outside?_

Toothless decided to investigate and he slowly got up, being careful not to alert Praze. Though, it seemed his cautiousness was wasted as the young male seemed to already be in a state of deep sleep. Toothless chuckled to himself as he watched Praze's still form slowly move up and down as he breathed steadily. _He must've tired himself out with all the running around he did in the cav_e Toothless thought.

Within a few seconds Toothless was outside and as he looked to the night sky, he gasped. For in the blackness above him, there was light. The light of thousands of stars, gleaming incandescently, shining out through constellation and constellation of vibrant blues and purples. However in Toothless' opinion, what stood before him was every bit as mesmerizing as the beautiful and transfixing galaxies above him.

"Ace, what are you doing out here?" he called out, his voice soft. Her amethyst eyes trained on him as a smile spread on her face.

"I'm just admiring the stars and constellations," she replied, matching his own soft voice before turning her head back to the sky. "Aren't they beautiful?"

But Toothless' eyes weren't to the sky. "Yeah," he sighed an infatuated sigh before eventually taking his eyes off the dragoness. "The vibrant colours... are breathtaking. I often wonder about the complexity and beauty of the night sky...about how intricate and pensive it is."

Ace smiled as she turned to him. "I agree...it's like the sky beckons to hold me in a totalitarian embrace. It's just wondrous and alluring and...when I was alone...it was my only comfort."

Toothless looked upon her with sad eyes, feeling for her lonely life once more. "And what a comfort it must have been," he said, a smile creeping in the corner of his mouth.

"Indeed," she replied, a smile of her own forming. She then shifted on the sand as she turned her body to face him and said, "I'm going to sleep out here tonight, so don't worry about me," before she cracked her neck and back and curled up onto the sand, her gaze constant upon the night sky. Her equilibrium was, for the most part, satiated by both the beauty of the stars and the presence of the dragon beside her and after a few more moments of gazing, she finally let her eyelids droop and rested her head on her paws.

Silence ensued. That is, until the sound of compacting sand could be heard as it grew nearer to her. Confused, Ace lifted her head and opened her eyes just as she felt a pressure on her back and she turned to see Toothless lying down next to her. He turned and looked at her and saw her puzzled expression.

"What?" he asked casually as he made himself more comfortable. "It's gonna be a windy night tonight. You'll freeze to death otherwise, so I'll sleep out here with you."

Ace's face at that moment would have heated at their closeness had she not already been warmed by Toothless' care and consideration for her, so she just sighed and laid her head back on her paws. "Thanks," she whispered to him and he just smiled as he curled up and laid his own head against his own paws, letting sleep's embrace take hold of him.

Ace felt...safe. Comforted. Cared for. _Loved._ Her face heated at a sudden realisation. That feeling she got, that wonderful blissful feeling, _was...love._ She _loved_ him. _It all makes sense now!_ she thought, whilst at the same time remembering who she was leaning up against. She smiled. She was exuberant with her newfound divergent; he cared for her and protected her, so she was going to care for him and protect him. _I love you, Toothless_ she thought to herself with a wide smile.

With those thoughts circling her mind, she slowly drifted off to have many happy dreams she wouldn't recall the next morning. Perhaps that was for the best, however.

* * *

**A/N**

**Ok, if you think this story is good could you pleeeeease let my know by posting a review? If you truly enjoy reading, let me know! I will personally answer any questions and say thank you at the end of the next chapter for EVERYONE that reviews! Have fun ;) and have a good one! **

**P.S if everyone that has followed the story leaves a review, I would dedicate all of my free time towards writing the story. And even if we don't get everyone, the more we get will determine how fast and how motivated I'll be (because I'll know how many of you want me to write.) It isn't like I need reviews, heavens no, I would just really like to have some feedback from you! :)**


	13. Part One: Apprehension (12)

**Part One - #12 Apprehension**

* * *

An abundance of light began to seep through the eyelids of those on the beach, stirring consciousness in their brains as they tried to fight the urge to wake up. However, one of the two relented and their eyelids slowly opened to reveal an amethyst glaze, lit up by a bright morning sun before the amethyst widened.

The dragoness whom those amethyst globes belonged to slowly stood, her heart racing at vibrant display of colour before her. The sheer beauty of what she was witnessing causing her to poke the dragon beside her animatedly with her nose, enthusing for him to wake and witness the amazing sight. When he groaned and shifted his head into his paws to block out the disruption, Ace merely ignored him and continued to poke at him with her nose.

"What do you want..." he groaned, not happy that he had his morning sleep-in disturbed.

"Just wake up! Look at the sky, Toothless," she whispered, her eyes turning back to the amazing sight as Toothless, reluctantly, followed suit. As soon as he did, his eyes widened.

"Wow..." he gasped, truthfully amazed by what he saw for there, in front of him, was the spectacular sight of the sun slowly but gracefully rising into view, a sight that sent shivers down his and Ace's spines. The glorious heated light had the clouds basking in it, the brilliance of the reds, oranges and pinks all worthy of competing against even the night's vibrant colours.

"I know, right? What a sight to wake up to..." Ace trailed off, a certain memory appearing in her mind once more. _I love you, Toothless_. She smiled.

"I agree," Toothless replied, getting up to stretch. The feeling of the discs cracking and moving into place in his back as he did so was enough to make him sigh with satisfaction, Ace beside him doing the same. "So," he began, gaining her attention and a smile, "what are we going to do today?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Dunno," she replied, "maybe we should ask Praze?"

"Good idea," Toothless replied as he turned to the cave, ready to head towards it before he heard a sound like a mangled sob. Puzzled, he turned to see Ace collapsed on the ground with her paws covering her face, a sight that deeply worried and shocked him. "What's wrong!?" he asked as he frantically rushed over to her. When she didn't respond he gently shook her before nudging her with his nose. "Ace, please, what is it?" he asked again, and slowly she looked up at him. What he saw in those purple and slitted eyes chilled him to the bone. For he saw an insurmountable fear that was riddled with underlying uncertainty, horror, shock and...

Seething rage.

"He's...here..." she muttered despondently. It was then that Toothless' face dropped and he felt as if he had the breath taken out of him. His heart pounded as he sat there, eyes slit, only beginning to feel a terrible aura befall upon him. The smell of death invaded his nostrils, but it was Ace's disdained face that made him snap out of his trance.

"Get up. We're leaving now, before he gets here," he stated, only to receive nothing but silence from her. He then moved over to her before putting his wing around her for comfort, gaining her attention as her eyes focused on him. "I told you I would protect you, didn't I?" he asked, his voice a soft and soothing whisper. "We're going to get you someplace safe..." he trailed off as he looked to where the wind blew from; where the scent came from, "...before I completely end his miserable worthless life," he finished darkly.

"O-Okay..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. _That monster instilled that much fear in her? _Toothless asked himself. He wasn't going to stand for it.

"_Praze_!" he called out, bringing forth the young dragon from the cave at the sound of his name. He tilted his head curiously. "We have to leave. _Now._" With that, Praze's eyes widened as he too felt the deathly presence; that feeling dragons got when the scent of a terrible dragon caught their attention; a defence mechanism born into every single dragon.

"Gotcha," Praze called back.

After a few more seconds passed as Toothless finally calmed down the distraught Ace before the three of them took off in the opposite direction, flying non-stop until they finally felt the clutches of death wash away.

* * *

**A/N**

**So I decided to post this chapter as a thank you for your contributions! It makes me very happy that so many of you care enough about this story to leave a review and give me your thoughts and it would be just wonderful to have you all leave another review on this chapter to give me your thoughts on what you think might happen ;)**

**A BIG THANKS TO!:**

**Nixxon Mysterio**

**XenoXx**

**Onionfury45**

**brickmaster2**

**Mordooooh**

**SMr. Freeze**

**razor95 - Special thanks to you, razor, for leaving such an amazing review! Unfortunately, I am unable to answer your questions as I do not wish to possibly spoil anything in the near future ;)**

**Guest**

**Celestial Wolf Of The Sun**

**Thank you to all these people for reviewing! If we get a turnout like this it would just be absolutely wonderful! So please DO leave your thoughts on the chapter as I would love to hear your theories! **


	14. Part One: Astral Tenderness (13)

**Part One - #13 Astral Tenderness**

* * *

Ace could not describe the fear she had felt when that presence invaded her once more. Her body had shut down, leaving her completely vulnerable and scared. The sadness she felt; the sadness brought about by the fact she had endangered her only two friends...was astronomical. That, combined with the rage, shock, fear and vulnerability had been what incapacitated her.

So she sat there, by the fire, on some random island with her two best friends exhausted from an entire day's flying away from _her_ past, and she felt absolutely terrible. She felt that she had to somehow apologise; that she had to apologise for forcing such a terrible thing upon them and for having to deal with her vulnerable state. So after a long day of silence, she spoke up...only to be shut down.

"Toothless-"

"-Don't apologise. I won't let you. It's okay, you don't have to worry."

Ace looked upon Toothless, her eyes still sad. "But-"

"-I said _don't_," and with that, he shuffled over next to her and placed his wing around her. "It's going to be okay, I won't let him anywhere near you." On the outside, Toothless appeared to be soothing, gentle, calm and caring. But on the inside, he was like an iceberg; unseen raw emotion, piling inside him, threatening to tear him apart. Every time they were close he felt as if his chest was going to burst from his pounding heart, every time he saw that wondrous smile on her face it just made him melt. So, when that happy smile was replaced with insurmountable fear and sadness, his blood boiled. He wanted to tear that monster limb-from-limb, to see his blood spilled like a waterfall. And he would see it done as surely as the sun breaks into dawn.

"Thanks," she whispered as she curled up against him, and Toothless was glad that he was an iceberg; he was glad that he could cover up most of his emotions. Otherwise his face would be as red as a rose in full bloom.

Praze laid across from them, asleep from the exhaustion of being pushed to his limit and as Ace slowly followed suit, Toothless was left to his thoughts as his stomach grumbled.

He'd failed miserably at catching fish for them to eat, only scrounging up a meagre seven fish. He'd given four to Ace and three to Praze but when questioned where _his _fish were, he had simply lied, _I ate them already_. So he was starving and he felt quite weak, seeing as they'd all spent the entire day flying just to find the island they were on. It had been night before they knew it, so they had all sat down by a fire to rest and regain their strength. _We're downwind from him, so it'll take him a while to catch Ace's scent. On top of that, if we continue to fly in the direction we've been flying, we'll always be ahead of him. As soon as Ace gets to safety..._ his thoughts stopped there as he shook his head. He didn't want to think about what he'd do to that wretched dragon, the pure sadism of his thoughts was something he didn't want to feel.

So, putting those thoughts aside, he began to relax into unconsciousness once more. That was, until Ace stirred beside him. He opened his eyes and turned to see a frown upon her face, her face a mixture of conflicted emotions as she let out a soft whimper and Toothless realised what was happening. She was having a nightmare.

* * *

_I didn't know what I was looking at. Toothless was in front of me, but he was laughing at me. "What?" I asked, and it seemed to amass more hysteria from him._

"_Oh-ho-ho...nothing," he replied, wiping away the tears. "It's just...you think you're good enough for me?" he laughed again and I was puzzled._

"_W-what do you mean?" I asked, my voice breaking. I don't like this...someone please stop this..._

"_Well, you see," he laughed, grinning with deviance, "I'm an Alpha. I've gone through trauma and I saved an entire village and nest of dragons from an evil queen _AND _an evil Alpha Bewilderbeast and his evil human master. What have YOU done? You're pathetic. No one. You are lower than dirt. Go die." With that, he turned and left without a trace; the darkness closing around him as his laughter resounded in the darkness around me._

_He was right. Who am I to think I was ever worthy of him, if not even dirt? I should just go... "Go die." Suddenly before me was the ocean, and I was atop a cliff looking down on it. Below me were shards upon shards of rocks, inviting me, comforting me, soothing me..._

_I jumped._

* * *

Suddenly Ace awoke with a cold sweat, gasping as she clung to something. She looked up to see Toothless' concerned face and her heart stopped as she remembered something. _You think you're good enough for me?_

She let go of him hurriedly before scrambling away from him quickly. When Toothless' concern bore into her she realised what she did, and the former was confused.

"Sorry," she replied quickly. "I had a bad dream. I woke up and kind of panicked..."

"Are you ok?" was all he asked as he got up and moved towards her.

"_Stop!"_ she called out unthinkingly before she covered her mouth and quickly shot out more apologies, but Toothless just dismissed them with a smile.

"It's ok. I understand...would you like to go for a walk?" he asked, and she nodded her head, albeit slowly. Who could blame her, after what she'd just experienced one would tend to be a little less content with the male before them.

_It was just a dream, there's no way Toothless would ever be like that...would he? _She asked herself but she dismissed the thought. _No way. _Though despite her best pleadings, doubts still entered her mind ruthlessly.

"Come on," Toothless urged softly, bringing her out of her depressing thoughts. "The stars are quite beautiful tonight...don't you think?" She nodded slowly, a despondent look still on her face. He sighed. "Must've been a pretty bad nightmare, eh?" he asked softly. She nodded again. "Do you want to talk about it?" he suggested as they continued to walk further into the island.

"No." The reply was short. Ace didn't think she'd be able to maintain her emotions if she conversed such things with him. On top of that...there was the fear of rejection that her nightmare ruthlessly enforced. She desperately wanted to say those words that everyone wants to say to their significant other. Despite the beating heart and heated face it gave her when she thought about it, she wanted to embrace him and entwine their tails and nuzzle into his neck. To sum it up...she wanted them to be mates. _Mates_. The word gave her chills when she thought about it. She really cared for him and loved him...if only she had the courage to tell him.

"How are you feeling?" Toothless asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"About what?"

"That wretched Night Fury."

"Oh...well...I guess I'm just tense and a little scared. And I guess you could say...guilty for bringing you and Praze into this-"

"-I thought I already told you that we're all in this together? There is no 'bringing you and Praze into this', we were in this from the beginning, ever since I told you I would protect you. I mean every word I said back then and I don't go back on any of it," Toothless cut in, and Ace dropped her head.

"I'm sorry...it's just..." she trailed off, not finding the right words.

"It's just...what?"

"I just hope I'm not a burden to you..." she trailed off as they entered a meadow.

Toothless stopped. He turned to her with blazing emerald eyes. "You have never, _ever_ been a burden to me and never will be, I care about you too much to ever even contemplate such an unlikely event even happening! You're the first dragon I've ever had such deep care for...I can't describe it. I don't know what it is, Ace, but I just want to spend all my time with you. I just long to be with you whenever you aren't here and when that happens I can't take it! You make me so happy and I don't know why but YOU CANNOT LET YOURSELF THINK YOU WILL EVER BE A BURDEN TO ME!"

The trees swayed in a soft wind as the words sank into Ace's mind, heating her with the indescribable warmth they brought with them.

"You are too precious to me..." Toothless trailed off softly, so much so that his voice was almost a whisper. However, Ace was reminded of that creeping doubt in her mind and it would not relent.

"A-Am I not so insignificant for an Alpha...I am merely no one in the light of all your-"

"_Don't you dare,_" Toothless almost hissed the words, tears beginning to form in his eyes and he did not know why. "Who cares that I am an Alpha? I would trade my status any day, any hour, any minute, second or millisecond just to be with you! Don't you dare say you are insignificant...for you are _so very precious to me..._"

Ace's own tears began to form at the tenderness of his words...at the pure unadulterated truths that were embedded within them. Her fears were empty. Her worries were baseless. She felt...compelled to reveal that which dwelled deep within her.

"T-Toothless..." she murmured and he looked up, their faces so close and they didn't even care. "Words cannot begin to describe how I feel when I'm with you...all I can say is that you make me feel alive and amazing and a world without you would be a world not worth living in. I-I..." she trailed off, finding it hard to find the words. She turned her head away, Toothless' gaze to much for her to bear. "I-I'm in love with you, Toothless."

Toothless' heart stopped and he tensed, and for a few seconds nothing happened. He seemed like he was a statue made of stone, but on the inside an event horizon of mass emotion was building. He had finally figured out what all those feelings inside him meant...and he was incredibly happy.

However, Ace didn't know this and she could only take the silence and assume the worst as she slowly let her head drop...only to be caught by Toothless' paw as he lifted it back up to meet her amethyst eyes with his emerald ones.

"You have the most beautiful and exquisite eyes..." he murmured and Ace's eyes widened before he moved his face ever closer to hers until they were merely centimetres apart. "I'm in love with you too," he confessed with a smile but frowned at the tears that still hung upon her face.

Ace was beside herself with joy and happiness. She could not describe the immense amount of emotion that was flowing through her, and since her earlier sadness had dissipated her face heated when Toothless leant down and licked her tears away. When he leant back they both smiled widely before Ace instinctively leaned forward and nuzzled his neck animatedly, feeling a rush of bliss and exhilaration doing so. Toothless, momentarily surprised, recovered from his shock and returned the gesture as their tails entwined almost automatically, both their hearts beating vividly.

After a few moments of nuzzling each other, they stepped back and all they could do was just _laugh _in happiness and joy. After that they could only laugh at the absurdity of their laughter, and then the never-ending cycle continued until they finally quietened down and laid down in the meadow to observe the stars. So they laid there on their backs, side-by-side, tails intertwined, conversing vividly about their adventures on Amicus.

"Hey, remember when we all just lost it that morning when we shared our stories? When we had that water fight? Oh, that was the best!" Ace exclaimed softly, laughing slightly.

"Yeah and you two both carried me to the water! That was so unfair! It was, like, early in the morning and the water was flippin' _freezing_! You ganged up on me," Toothless retorted with a grin on his face.

"Whatever," she murmured, turning to him with an equally wide grin on her face as she gently punched him with her forepaw.

It was funny. Neither of them could wipe the incredulous smiles off their faces, they were just way too happy for anything to bother them at all. However, Toothless' smile grew wider when a certain idea formed in his mind as he slowly got up. Puzzled, Ace wondered briefly what he was doing before she asked him, "Whatcha doing?"

"Just stand up," he whispered and she did so, but not before she found herself back on the ground with the soft grass pressing against her back. "There," Toothless stated triumphantly from above her. "Toothless one, Ace one. We're even now."

"I cannot not describe just how _cheap_ that was!" Ace exclaimed with an expression of mock horror, before grinning with deviance. "We are _so_ not even," she muttered and with one quick movement, their places were reversed. "Ace two, Toothless _still_ zero."

"You suck."

"_You_ suck."

"This is becoming a bit of a habit now, isn't it?" Toothless asked with a slight smile.

"Not really, you really do just suck," Ace replied and he rolled his eyes in response.

"And _you're_ just contradictory," he added.

"No I'm not," she contradicted. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Can we just head back to camp now?" he asked with a sigh that she still pinned him. He wanted his dignity to be intact and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Nope," she replied, smacking his face gently with her tailfin making his eyes widen in surprise. "Not until you pin me-" but she was cut off mid-sentence when Toothless rolled out from under her, grabbing her tail in the process. He stood next to her as her eyes widened and she was frozen.

"Don't tell me _you're_ partial to _your _tail, hm?" he teased and her face turned white. "You _totally are!_ You hypocrite!"

"T-Toothless give my t-tail back!" she exclaimed as her voice broke before she leapt at him, which he narrowly dodged. "T-Toothless!"

"No!" he exclaimed in return with a laugh. Then, he noticed her about to leap again. _So you fell into my trap, hm? _he thought with a smirk. Then, she pounced and Toothless let go of her tail quickly, side-stepping at the same time. The look of surprise on Ace's face didn't last long because within seconds Toothless stuck out his paw and tripped her and her expression turned into one of horror as he flipped her, gently pinning her with a condescending smile. "So, can we go back _now_?" he asked but she remained silent for a second, her face heated from the position they were in.

"Fine," she pouted. "Ace two, Toothless..._finally_ one." He rolled his eyes.

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**A/N**

**Ok after that how can you NOT review!? Like, PLEASE! I want to know what you think about how I executed their coming-together. **

**Thanks to!:**

**gmjngvkh**

**Onionfury45**

**brickmaster2**

**Nixxon Mysterio**

**HvislaNott (or would you prefer DreamshadeTheNightFury?)**

**httyd4lif**

**^If you want your name on this list just be an epic person and review. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed and have a good one!**


	15. Part One: Event Horizon (14)

****Part One - #14 Event Horizon****

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****This is a warning to my readers. This chapter will depict some terrible scenes rather descriptively, as well as containing some coarse language. It is up to your discretion whether or not you wish to continue and read this chapter. If you do not, please PM me and I will tell you what happens in a very bland and boring form that will, at least, satiate your curiosity without leaving you mentally perturbed. ****

* * *

After once more looking at the stars for a little longer, Toothless and Ace eventually began to get up and leave the soft grass of the meadow behind with wide grins on their faces. Neither of them could've imagined the confessions that took place...and it made them both ludicrously happy. They conversed in mindless chatter, borderline playfully bantering out of the happiness they felt.

However, neither of them could feel it. At least...until it was too late. Toothless was the first to notice.

"Do you feel that?" he asked in a low voice, confused at being unable to detect what the feeling was.

"Feel what?" she asked, confused.

However, it seemed that fate decided it would have its superfluous way and the wind suddenly changed direction and with it brought about that terrible feeling Toothless dreaded. Then, a realisation hit him. _Praze!_

"He's here," Toothless hissed the words as he began to take towards their camp with haste. A look of horror appeared on Ace's face as she comprehended those words and hastily began to follow him in terrified silence before they heard something that chilled them to the bone, something that instilled incredulous fear into their hearts.

Praze's scream.

"_PRAZE! HOLD ON!" _Toothless yelled as they broke into the clearing and were immediately confronted by what they saw. For there, before them, was a massive Night Fury towered above and held Praze by the neck in mid-air with a single powerful foreleg. Praze scrambled at the hold with his forelegs but nothing could move what seemed to be unmoveable, before a single dark-brown trained upon Toothless and chills ran down his spine. But it didn't stay there long before it moved to Ace beside him, and then they widened as a devious smile slowly spread across his face, distorting the long scar than ran across his right eye. Then he spoke, his voice full of malice with a disturbing amount of calmness as it capriciously fluctuated evilly.

"I couldn't believe it when I detected your scent again, female. After I set you out to sea with a dislocated wing I thought you would be dead and when I realised it I felt so terrible that I wasted you," he said as Praze continued to claw at his foreleg though he ignored it. The pure evilness of the aura Toothless could feel emanating from him had paralysed him and he could do nothing as he continued to speak. "I know that when you die, your scent soon follows your soul after a month or so but after that time I grew suspicious...then excited." He licked his lips lustfully before continuing. "I can't believe I didn't _fuck_ you when I had the chance, but I'm so thankful that the chance has been returned to me," he stated sadistically and Toothless just about lost it before he noticed Praze laughing. _Laughing?_ Even the large Fury turned to the young dragon he held in one paw. "What's so funny that you, an insignificant pest, would be laughing in the presence of _me_, the great Saevus?" he asked, only causing Praze to laugh even more. Toothless and Ace gasped at what they saw when Praze looked up.

"_You_ are insignificant, you worthless, wretched rapist," was all Praze said, completely ice-blue eyes staring out maliciously. All traces of that warm orange were gone, all that remained was that cold ice-blue. Then suddenly, he became a blur as he disappeared from Saevus' paw and slim, faint lines of red appeared on the large dragon's chest and foreleg. He yelled in anger when he finally realised what had happened and looked to Praze, who had reappeared beside Ace and Toothless. "Hm, it seems my claws weren't long enough to pierce too deeply, otherwise your head would be rolling in a puddle of blood. _Your_ blood," Praze stated nonchalantly and coldly as he held up his right paw, blood dripping from his claws. Saevus' eyes widened as he felt two wounds appear on the front and back of his neck, making him furious as he yelled in pain again. "It's a pity you're a fully-matured Night Fury, otherwise my claws would have cut through your throat. Instead your thick scales got in the way."

Saevus was completely baffled that such a young Night Fury could do such a thing, before he thought back to when it happened. He remembered seeing the young dragon look up, a look a pure coldness in his eyes that had no sense of remorse, before he disappeared but Saevus could remember seeing _something_ move behind him then in front of him. _How could he have moved that fast?_ _Though, I do only have one eye_ he thought before remembering why he was there, thanks to that terrible wound on his right eye that the female had put there. _She's going to pay for that..._

"I must commend you, you piece of shit, for actually wounding me," Saevus began and Toothless' eye twitched at the vulgarity even as he tried to come up with a plan to rip the much larger dragon to shreds. The only reason he hadn't made a move yet was because of the sheer size of Saevus, and was completely shocked when Praze wounded him in a split second. _He would easily be at least forty years old, _Toothless thought as Saevus continued. "Very few dragons have been able to injure me as fairly as you have, but when I'm done with the female you're going to get it."

Praze only seemed to grin in anticipation once more before it slowly faded and the fluorescent ice-blue in his eyes returned back to their normal ice-blue, the warm orange around his pupil also returning as he shook his head as if to clear it. "W-What happened?" he asked, slightly confused. Toothless understood the situation a little quicker than Ace, deciding that Praze had somehow entered an alternate state of mind when he leant down and whisper to him.

"You were in a hold by that Fury, Ace's mother's rapist and her sister's murderer; Saevus. Then your eyes changed to pure ice-blue and you wounded him as he is now." Praze looked up to Saevus, noting the injuries he'd given the larger Fury, before looking at his claws that were dripping with blood. Then he felt incredibly tired for some reason and he began to feel his eyelids flutter as he fell to the ground. "Praze!" Ace and Toothless exclaimed as the young dragon fell into unconsciousness and they both rushed to him.

Saevus was completely confused about what was going on before him, but decided it wasn't worth his time seeing as he now only had to get through the larger male to get to the female that he lustfully desired greatly. "I guess now I've only got to kill you then to have my fun," he directed at Toothless with a malevolent grin that made Ace shudder. Then for a second...nothing happened. Toothless' heart pounded in his chest as he steeled his rage, making it his refined and controlled weapon against the monster that stood before him. Then he spoke. Calmly, collectively, hiding his seething hatred.

"You, who has brought about chaos and detriment to those whom I care deeply about, I will offer no form of redemption or atonement other than _death_," Toothless muttered, his eyes closed, earning a look of amusement from Saevus, who just chuckled. Stupidly. Toothless then opened his eyes, his heart beating heavily from what would consequently occur from his next choice of words, and Saevus could see the extent of Toothless' refined rage and hatred singeing his emerald eyes. "Nothing became you in your life like it will the leaving it!" he yelled as he leapt towards Saevus with a burning justice, using his wings to propel him even faster than thought possible.

Saevus had no time to react. He was so used to having no form of retaliation...he was so used to mercilessly raping and murdering his victims without need of restraint...that he had forgotten that there were some who could overcome his intimidatingly ominous size and oppressive demeanour. There was no way he could have dodged because on top of all that, his size had made him lose almost all of his speed.

Toothless crashed into him with an intense amount of force, sending them both rolling and sprawling several metres across the dirt. They both clawed at each other, both maintaining their intensity even as injuries flew about, until Saevus used his massive size and strength to push Toothless off him, getting ready to claw him with the razor-sharp claws on one massive paw.

Toothless' eyes moved to those razor-sharp claws and time seemed to slow down. They were coming from his right side in a horizontal direction, aimed for his chest. Toothless quickly tucked his wings into his side and jumped upwards, spinning to one-hundred and eighty degrees as those claws passed his back harmlessly before he landed back on his feet again and thinking of an idea. Then, almost instantaneously, he applied that idea; spinning fast so that his tail picked up speed and he used the prosthetic side of his fin to slice across Saevus' chest and with the speed he gained from the spin he managed to use the metal to cut through the hard scales, blood splattering the ground as he did so.

Enraged, Saevus cried out in pain and confusion, wondering how Toothless had managed to cut him with just a tailfin. Then, he saw it. A sharp glint that managed to catch his eye from the moonlight.

As he held a paw to his chest, he began to grin from his understanding. "You have both intrigued me _and_ pissed me off, you fucking worthless wretch," he hissed out at Toothless, who only growled at his words.

"I could say the same. Though, you're not very intriguing. Just pathetic."

"What's up with your tailfin?" Saevus asked, ignoring his comment, making Toothless growl even more.

Ace could only watch in shock at the fight that was going on before her as she nervously tended to Praze, bringing him further away from the bloody scene. Then she noticed the vulnerable stance Toothless was in. He was keeping his tailfin as far away from Saevus as possible. Though that made complete sense because if Toothless got his prosthetic damaged...he would never be able to fly again. Just the thought of that was enough to bring Ace to tears, for after all, it was _her_ who put him into that situation. And she knew it.

For Toothless, he was thinking the same thing...though at the same time he wasn't. He was thinking that now that Saevus was interested in his tailfin...he couldn't let the rapist anywhere near it or he would be as good as dead. And worse...he would never be able to return to Berk. The thought that it was Ace's fault never crossed his mind as he took off into the sky, leaving Saevus chuckling.

"So there _is_ something up with your tailfin, COWARD!" he yelled into the night sky, laughing as he began to spread out his wings, ready to take off. But before he could, several bursts of vivid blue and purple exploded onto him, making him growl in anger and pain. After recovering quickly, he dodged out of the way of the next few shots before unfurling his wings and quickly taking off into the air, his eyes tracing the incredibly faint outline of black. "_YOU'RE DEAD!" _he growled viciously as he powered towards Toothless, sending several plasma blasts his way to which he dodged them all before turning and flying directly towards him. "_BASTARD!" _Saevus yelled one last time before the toward collided mid-air and time slowed down once more during the impact as they both clawed and bit at each other, before they both pushed off to fly in a semicircle to return and attack again.

This continued for a while until the both of them were dripping with blood, exhausted, until finally Saevus had enough. So it seemed.

"You piece of shit..." Saevus muttered, on the ground, as he coughed up blood. He seemed to be completely done for.

"Inconsequential," Toothless murmured in reply, also covered in the stuff, as he moved towards Saevus to deliver what would have been the final blow. That is...until that defeated look upon Saevus' face changed to one of malice as he shot an incredibly powerful plasma blast, one that Toothless had no chance of dodging.

"_TOOTHLESS!" _Ace wailed, her eyes wide as she watched him be blown several meters back from where he had been standing. Saevus grinned triumphantly.

"You _IDIOT _and_ DISGRACE _of a Night Fury," he began, laughing as he strolled over to Toothless, whom was currently trying to stand even though his entire body was rapt with weakness and blood deprivation. There was no visible wound to the plasma blast, as per normal for an attack that works on the shockwave it creates rather than its firepower. The inside was where the serious damage was. And Toothless could easily tell that he was _very_ damaged. Several broken bones and punctures, internal bleeding, his lung was probably punctured as well. He could tell that much from the amount of blood he was coughing out. Saevus continued. "I was slowly charging and concentrating that plasma blast the whole fight! Do you know nothing of the stealth features of a Night Fury?"

"_Y-you...scum..." _was all Toothless could rasp in reply, his body going into shock from all the wounds he had sustained. Saevus continued to walk towards him, chuckling at Toothless' destroyed state. "_N_-_No_...y_ou're...l-lower than scum-ARHHGHH!" _Toothless was interrupted by Saevus picking his head up, piercing his left ear with his claws as he did so.

"I don't give a shit," Saevus said simply, before he slowly lifted Toothless' head a little further and then slamming it into the ground with enough force to break a thick tree branch. Toothless couldn't describe the amount of pain he was in...because he couldn't process anything due to such a violent head injury it was. Then he could hardly hear, then hardly see as blood filled his vision and one thought filled his mind as he stared helplessly at Saevus' sadistic smile when the latter lifted his head up once more to pound it into the ground with even more force than the first. The only thing he heard was Ace's voice yelling, "_STOP IT!"_

After lifting Toothless' head again to smash it into the ground once more, Saevus let it drop and hit the ground with a sickening thud as blood began to form into a pool around it. "That's right, I forgot why I even came. I was just having too much fun..." he said as he casually began towards her, leaving Toothless' bloody lifeless body behind him. It made Ace want to weep and sob uncontrollably at the state Toothless was in but she knew she had to stay strong. However, Saevus stopped suddenly and he turned around to find Toothless holding on to Saevus' tailfin with his claws in a desperate attempt at keeping him from going anywhere near Ace. Saevus was enraged at him doing this, but before he acted irrationally he turned his eyes to Toothless' tailfin, remembering that metal glint he'd seen earlier, before unlatching Toothless' weak grip on his tailfin and walking over to Toothless'. "So, what's the deal with this tailfin of yours? Maybe I should just leave you flightless?" he asked maliciously and Toothless' eyes widened in despair. "Oh hold on..." Saevus murmured to himself as he realised that one side of Toothless' tailfin was..._fake._ "You were already flightless and crippled from the beginning! I wonder how you managed to get this but I really don't give a fuck. I'm going to destroy it anyway!"

By this point in time, Praze had begun to regain consciousness to see Toothless' head being bashed into the ground mercilessly, but he didn't have the thought process to actually understand it because he'd literally just began to make sense as to why he had been asleep. However...when his eyes were finally unclouded and he remembered the situation they were in...to see Saevus rip off Toothless' prosthetic brought him to the brink of a pure murderous state, his eyes narrowing into slits as he instantly calculated what to do next.

"Any last prayers for your flight? No?" Saevus asked as he held Toothless' prosthetic in his paws. "Ok then," he said simply as he tore it in half.

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ Praze yelled as he aimed his paws for Saevus' neck once more, feeling contact as he rushed past him and plunged it from one side to the other. _I was too late_, Praze thought despondently just as he felt something enclose around his neck and the next thing he knew was Saevus' livid face in front of him.

"_YOU FUCK!" _Saevus yelled as he threw Praze into a nearby wall, the sheer force cracking the rock face as Praze's lifeless body slid down it. "I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE YOU WOULD TRY THAT AGAIN YOU SHIT!" Saevus yelled, trying to hold the gaping wound on his neck closed. Praze had reached deep enough to pierce a blood vessel, causing it to spurt through Saevus' paw.

Through what just took place, Ace was finally able to snap out of her delusional and helpless state as she appeared before Toothless, cradling his head in her paws. She didn't know what to do...but something began to form in her head. She didn't know what it meant, but she knew that it would help. She gently placed her forehead to his and whispered a single word; _"Sanaret"._ The effect was instantaneous. Ace immediately felt her strength give way as Toothless' eyes shot open, his energy restored.

"Ace!" he exclaimed quietly, not understanding why he felt so much better. "What happened-"

"There's...no time...you have...to...help Praze!" she wheezed furiously and Toothless needed no reminder as he quickly got up, his eyes widening at what he saw.

"_YOU'RE THE COWARD!"_ Toothless yelled and just in time it seemed, for he watched as Saevus picked up Praze by his throat much like how he had earlier, except they were both atop the rock wall that was only a few metres high. Saevus turned to Toothless, confused and conflicted but still raging.

"HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU UP?" he yelled, only causing Toothless to eye him with an intense ferocity.

"Let go of Praze, _now_," Toothless ordered, the fire in his eyes clearly evident. However...it seemed to not have any effect on Saevus, who only got more enraged.

"NO! THIS LITTLE SHIT HAS TRIED TO SLIT MY THROAT TWICE NOW, AND HE HALF-SUCCEDED THE SECOND TIME! I'M NOT LETTING HIM GO UNTIL I RETURN THE FAVOUR!" he yelled lucidly, causing Toothless' eyes to widen as he watched Saevus place a claw to Praze's throat. Saevus then grinned psychotically, licking his lips, the pleasure in his eyes brewing sadistically. "See ya, kid," he muttered as he faced Praze towards him and, with one effortless movement, swiftly brought his claw across the length of his neck.

"_NO, DON'T!"_ The words left Toothless' mouth too late as he and Ace watched in horror at the blood that began to gush out of Praze's throat, the young Fury's eyes wide with shock as he fell from Saevus' grip to land on his knees.

Praze stared blankly at the ground in confusion and all the sound around him was muffled, time seeming to run slow. He briefly heard something from Saevus before the larger dragon just disappeared, though he didn't invest too much thought into it as he moved his paw to his throat. When he pulled it back his pupils narrowed into slits and time and sound seemed to resume themselves, making him fall onto his back from weakness.

_Am I going to die? _he thought, all of a sudden feeling wetter than usual around his neck and chest.

"_PRAZE!"_ a voice called out from somewhere nearby.

_Was this my plan in life? _The wetness began to spread down his sides.

"_PRAZE!"_ The voice was nearer, though it seemed to harmonise with another voice.

_My destiny? _He could feel the wetness spread to his back, as if he were laying in a puddle.

"_PRAZE! HOLD ON!" _The voice grew nearer still, though this time he was able to detect more emotional output.

_To die?_

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**A/N**

…

**mathmonkey167**

**Mordooooh**

**slayer98**

**Onionfury45**

**XenoXx**

**Nixxon Mysterio**

**MICH-KR300**

**brickmaster2**

**gmjmgvkh**

**Physro**

**Celestial Wolf Of The Sun**

**Guest**

…

**Your thoughts are greatly appreciated, please do continue to give them! My, I decided to end it on a very _very_ cliffhanging note. I wonder, what do you think will happen? Will Praze survive, or will he die? People who know me well know that I'm not afraid to kill off my characters _but_ make a decision for yourself. Those who get it right will receive a flamboyant cookie of chocolate pancake syrup. Yes that was necessary, what do you think? Just look at how I ended the chapter...**

**Also, just to clarify, "Sanaret" is pronounced as _San-a-ray_**

**Have a good one! **


	16. Part One: Endearments Not Lost (15)

****Part One - #1********5 ********Endearments Not Lost****

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It was hours before sunrise and there was an abundance of silence, silence that seethed through the atrociously incandescent moon. Its light seemed to smile despicably, intent on viciously destroying any form of resistance or futile discrepancy. Through disparaging odds and virtuous chance, silence, by the mercy of fate, was the outcome.

Toothless sat in despair, unnameable tears upon his sodden and disconsolately stagnant face. He had lost the fight against Saevus, and, through luck only, he and Ace were ok and were granted a pardon of conflict. _But not without cost_, Toothless thought despondently as he cast his vision towards the multitudinous incarnadine on Praze's lifeless and ragged body. _This was my fault...it my was fault that I was so weak. So weak as to not be able to fight against that monster...as to force Praze into such a __conditional situation__..._

Speaking of Praze's condition...it was wavering and fluctuant. The amount of blood he'd lost was insurmountable and if not for Toothless' vitality in movement and action, the young Fury would already be dead. Not that it meant anything, because those efforts could still be vain.

"Toothless..." a voice called softly, making the dragon's ears twitch at the soft and soothing sound. He turned his head ever so slightly to look at Ace, who stood a few metres away from him, a look of total sadness on her face that was reflective of his own. "I'm..._s_-_so_, sorry," she whispered, the raw emotion in her voice abundantly clear, tears falling from her eyes. She collapsed onto the ground next to him with a mangled sob before thrusting her head into her paws, crying profusely as her shoulders rocked. She wept for Praze...for Toothless...for their immensely unfair situation. And Toothless could not bear it.

"It's ok..." he whispered into her ear, moving closer to her, placing his outstretched wing around her with loving care and pressing his comforting form against her in a loving embrace. "It's not your fault...Praze is still here, I'm still here. We'll be fine," he continued, a fake smile on his face to at least try and cheer her up. In despair, Ace looked up at him with utter sadness and sympathy.

"But Toothless..." she began, trying desperately to contain her overwhelming depressed and saddened state, "y_-_your_ tailfin._.." At the statement he unconsciously twitched and moved his tail between them to look at it. Both he and Ace could see the detail of the injury, Ace for the first time, and they could see the jagged scar that remained. "T-Toothless..." she whispered with great empathy, knowing that the tail of a dragon was much more sensitive than most parts of one's body. It would have been an extremely painful and traumatic experience and Ace could only feel for him and the pain he must have gone through before she slowly moved her head down to inspect it.

Toothless, now feeling increasingly awkward at her so near to his injured tail, began to shake and shiver slightly when she brought her tongue to it, licking the wound as though a mother to a wounded hatchling. He was shaking and shivering because he was experiencing similar emotions to what he felt the night he received such a terrible injury. Fear...shock...depression. Ace brought her head up when she noticed his discomfort, slowly lifting her head to his and gently licking his cheek comfortingly.

The gesture, bringing him out of his paranoid state, was one he greatly appreciated with a light smile, before he sighed and the smile was lost. "What's done is done. There's no changing it," he muttered. "I can't fly, you don't know where Berq is, Praze is barely alive. We need to focus on what will happen when _he_ returns." A moment of silence followed as they both sat in their thoughts about the predicament.

"Still," Ace began as Toothless looked at her, "if Praze didn't act when he did, Saevus would still be here, not off healing. How long will it even take? What if he comes back any second now? And what about you? How are your injuries?" she shot at him and for a second he was minimally baffled, before he answered slowly.

"I feel fine. I don't know why, but you did something and you healed me. How?" Toothless asked.

"I just felt something and acted upon it. I don't really understand just exactly _what_, but I knew from the feeling I had that it would work..._somehow_," she finished the sentence with a light smile before a look of admiration came upon her beseeched face. "What you did was _far_ more important. If it weren't for you, Praze really _would_ be dead."

The both of them then took the time to reflect on what happened, realising just what had gone down those short few hours ago.

* * *

"_PRAZE!"_ _Toothless yelled as he rushe__d towards the young dragon. Saevus took off with a dis__g__usting grin of satisfaction, staying true to his words. '_I'll leave you be while he dies, I have to go heal anyway.'

_Toothless, ignoring __Saevus __as __t__he __sadistic wretch __flew away, __rushed to where Praze had collapsed. In his own blood. _

"_Praze..." Toothless murmured, looking upon Praze's now-unconscious body, his mind racing just what to do. He assessed the situation even as his tears fell. _

_Praze's throat was slit. It needed to be closed. He'd already lost enough blood to cover his entire body, if it hadn't accumulated to the puddle he now laid in._

_Of all that, Toothless didn't know the first thing in healing to be able to help Praze. All he knew was what he'd picked up on from the young Fury. _

Saliva regenerates the wound.

_Toothless knew that much. But even if he did lick the wound, the saliva wouldn't reach the actual scales and make them close back together, same with the blood vessel. He needed to somehow apply pressure at the same time. He needed__ something that could both apply pressure and saliva at the same time. _

Human fabric would work.

_Toothless pondered on the detriments of not being on Berq once more, before he realised something. _

Tailfin.

_Toothless left Praze and passed Ace, who was only watching in weakness. She couldn't even speak but that wasn't the problem at th__at __point in time. _

_He rushed over to where his shattered prosthetic lay, the last remnant Toothless had of Hiccup. Without hesitation he pick it up and tore the leather off the metal bracing, putting it in his mouth and coating it in his saliva as he rushed back to Praze. Hurriedly, he took it out of his mouth placed it firm over the wound, __pressing down as hard as he could without actually hurting the poor dragon beneath him._

Please, Praze, _Toothless begged silently __as the fabric began to grow...incarnadine...then his paws admitted the same shade. _Come on Praze! Please don't die on me now!

_His tears flowed down his face freely. Praze was a large part of Toothless' life, as was Ace. He wouldn't be able to bear it if he lost him._

_So for hours, he stayed like that. Unmoving. Sobbing. Sobbing for Praze. Until finally and tentatively...he lifted the fabric from Praze's neck and was almost __too scared to look at what was underneath. __However...he steeled his anxiety and held his breath as he peered underneath. What he saw both was both saddening and livening. _

_The artery and all the internal injuries had healed. All that was left was the gaping bloody gash that was drenched in red. Steeling himself further, Toothless brought the fabric up and began to wring out the blood...lots of blood...before placing back into his mouth and soaking it with more saliva. His face contorted in disgust; he did not want to taste the blood of his friend, and yet he had done so without hesitation. It didn't matter that he didn't like it. All that mattered was that Praze would live. _

_He took the soaked fabric out of his mouth once more before, this time gently, placing it on the open wound.__ Then there was one thing left to do._

Is he still alive?

* * *

Toothless still didn't have the courage to check for a heartbeat. He hadn't when he finished healing Praze's injuries and he didn't want to deal with it now. He wouldn't be _able_ to deal with it.

"He might already be dead." The statement was all Toothless could manage.

"W-What do you mean? Didn't you stop the bleeding?" Ace asked, struggling to come to terms with what Toothless just said.

"I stopped the bleeding. Bleeding can occur even after death."

"But what about the wound? H-How did you regenerate it?"

"Cells stay alive even after death. Regeneration means nothing."

"Then is he even alive now!?" Ace asked, nearly choking on her own words.

"I...don't know. I haven't checked-"

"-What do you _mean_ you '_haven't checked'_!?" Ace exclaimed as she rose to her feet. Toothless' eyes widened. "I'll go check-"

"-No...p-please. I...I just can't do it, Ace. I _don't want to know_," Toothless muttered despondently. Despaired. Exuberantly sad. "P-Please, just..._don't_."

They both sat in silence for a moment before some of Toothless' words came crashing down on her like a brick wall. _Cells stay alive. _"Toothless..." she began, unsure of her thinking. He turned to look at her. "Do you know the extent of regeneration?"

He seemed to think for a moment before answering. "Praze told me that...the wound has to be fresh, because it works by saliva mixing with the blood. It regenerates based off the genetic code that is in the cells in the specific area of injury. Why?"

Toothless seemed to calm down from his sadness. Talking seemed to create a diversion – more so, _distraction_ – and it kept him from thinking about Praze's dire situation.

"Well..." he followed her gaze to his missing tailfin. He looked up to her again, understanding in his eyes.

"Y-You..want to...?"

"Yes."

"B-But-"

"No excuses." The statement somehow made Toothless' knees weak as he shied away from her a little. But she wouldn't have it.

She pounced onto him, pinning him effectively without remorse or mercy in her eyes. She quickly intertwined her tail with his, mildly dazing him, before using her own tail to bring his up to where her paws could reach, quickly grasping it.

"A-Ace..." was all Toothless could manage. She shushed him with a quick, quiet and affirming nuzzle as she brought her claw to the stub of his left tailfin.

"I'm sorry, but this will hurt," she whispered into his ear, slightly nuzzling his cheek some more. Toothless merely chuckled lightly in response, reticent of his ever-growing fear of the pain he was going to feel. Then, she swiftly raked her claw across the whole length the scar and Toothless nearly fainted from the onset of pain. It was just so..._sudden,_ even Toothless wasn't prepared for a feeling that was so similar to that of a broken bone.

As the scar began to bleed profusely, Ace stuck it horizontally into her mouth and gently began to caress her tongue over it in soft soothing strokes. For Toothless...the pain was almost unbearable. If it weren't for Ace's form on top of him he didn't know what he would have done. Tears even began to build in his eyes at the pain, tears- that soon began to fall softly down his cheeks even despite his pleadings.

After a few more seconds Ace stopped what she was doing and looked at him, his eyes clenched shut. She softly licked his tears away before smiling and whispering to him.

"Look," she said, prompting Toothless to gaze upon his tail and when he did, he gasped. For there before him was about an inch of his tailfin that had not been there previously, all along where his scar had been. "Making progress," she smiled happily, "but we're going to have to do it again and again and again if we're gonna restore it fully."

"G-Good..." Toothless whispered. "H-Hurry up please."

Ace wasted no time, knowing that to best heal it with little pain as possible, she would have to be fast. So she continued.

* * *

"Toothless..."

The black dragon's eyes were still clenched shut, too used to the pain to notice that it was in fact _no longer there._

"Toothless..." Ace continued, a grin so wide on her face and tears so ludicrous flowing from her eyes. "Toothless!" she exclaimed, finally bringing his, in her opinion, _bea__utiful_ emerald eyes out of the dark hold of his pain and desperation. He looked up at her, seeing the pure happiness in her eyes he just smiled exuberantly as he looked down.

_Hello there, old friend, _Toothless thought with a smile, seeing a part of him he thought he'd never see again for the rest of his life.

It was his left tailfin.

However even as he maintained his joyous smile, his tears flowed steadily. "Oh Ace..." he cried out, grasping her in his wings and paws as he brought her close, "thank you _so_ _much_..."

He couldn't say any more as everything hit him at once. He could fly. He could return to Berq. He was no longer crippled. _He could fly home to Hiccup._

He cried even as he nuzzled Ace furiously, even as she returned the gesture with her own tears of happiness. However...there were still more pressing matters to deal with. Like the pressing matter that they could both feel as they stopped their affections immediately, becoming frozen.

"Get Praze somewhere safe," Toothless said as Ace got off him. Ace only nodded and moved fluently and efficiently to where Praze laid, lifting him up and onto her back as gently as she could.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked him, almost tentatively, before she gasped silently at the blue that began to emanate from Toothless.

"Yes. But I can't say the same for him."

* * *

****A/N****

****Well then. Have fun reviewing kiddleywinks. Hope you enjoyed...and******** I******** hope you will enjoy the chapter to come. I'm thinking of updating Wednesdays and Fridays, sometimes just whenever I finish the chapter. What do you think? You'd get a guaranteed two chapters a week. Sounds pretty solid am I right? ********Although...I COULDN'T STOP MYSELF POSTING THIS! Oh and btw that's AUSTRALIAN time. Tuesday and Thursday for you 'Mericans. For those of you in between...meh.****

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	17. Part One: Formidable Aberrance (16)

****Part One - #16 Formidable Aberrance****

* * *

****Another little note here for more violence and language etc. ALSO note that when I wrote "him" at the end of the last chapter ("Yes. But I can't say the same for ******_**him")**_** ****I was referring to Saevus, not Praze. Why would I end it dramatically with him referring to Praze? Think. ********Saevus was the subject of ******_**'him'**_******.****

* * *

Ace stared in shock at his determination and confidence. Of course, Toothless had confidence before the first fight but...the newfound confidence was on a completely different level entirely. The intimidating aura surrounding him was enough to make her shiver.

"Leave. Now." It wasn't a question or a suggestion, but an order. And Ace willingly abided as she flew herself and Praze to a safe vantage point.

Toothless watched them go, his nerves completely calm. He had never been so sure of himself in his entire life. So sure that the dragon approaching them would regret ever even contemplating that which should never be contemplated. Yet as he sat there...he felt nothing. No fear. No trepidation. No remorse. _No mercy_. His mindset was a very dangerous one. The mindset that told him...

Saevus deserved hell and tenfold.

So, as Toothless waited patiently for the approaching looming black mass to reach a specific point, he began soothe out his muscles and bones so that he would have perfect flexibility when he propelled himself at Saevus. He could feel each of his discs in his vertebrae loosen and crack when he stretched out his back, and he took on a loose smile just from imagining the pleasure he'd get from torturing Saevus as mercilessly as he could before tearing the rapist's throat out.

Meanwhile, Ace set herself down on a nearby hill with an extreme amount of emotion flowing within her. She felt scared and anxious and there was nothing she could do to forget that feeling...until she went to put Praze down. She stopped, her eyes widening. Praze was ice cold. There was no hint of warmth coming from the young dragon on her back even as she gently laid him down on the grass beside her so that he laid on his side, and Ace couldn't help but note that he looked so peaceful. Then, almost unwillingly, Ace crept towards him and, gulping and admitting a silent prayer, placed her head and ear to his chest where his heart was.

Toothless, still on the beach, readied himself. He could _feel_ the malevolence emanating from Saevus as the menacing dragon approached and knew the time was nearly upon him. The sky was dark with the sudden onset of murky grey clouds and the moon could no longer be seen, the deep grey bringing with it both rain and darkness. It would soon reach them and rain down on them with conscience. Briefly, he looked over to where he saw Ace land with Praze and noticed Ace hunched over, her shoulders rocking as if she was weeping. _Is she really that scared?_ he thought to himself as he began to flex out his wings, cracking each bone sequentially with satisfaction as he turned his head back towards the sea. _Y__ou __who are so evil...__will become like a plant during a drought, __without water; it's blood__. I will make you wither and die __with your lifeblood expunged._

That was the last thought going through Toothless' head before he released his spinal fins and leapt into the air with powerful legs and, with a single beat of his wings, accumulated an intense speed. Saevus noticed this and seemed to grin with satisfaction, before his expression changed to one confliction at the sight of Toothless' blue hue and how Toothless was even flying. But, before he could even contemplate on it, Toothless smashed into him, causing the both of them to float in midair when their flight came to a stop.

Amidst the confusion, everything was clear to Toothless. His actions; controlled. His mind; clear. His mercy...

_Gone_.

Toothless brought his teeth to Saevus' left foreleg as he charged a small plasma blast, releasing it as he ruthlessly clamped down, effectively blowing up the joint as he ripped it away from it's counterpart. Saevus roared in shock and pain as blood flew about the air, but he didn't have time to even retaliate before Toothless appeared above him and brought his paws down on his chest, smashing him downwards with an immense amount of force.

Falling from the sky towards the ocean, Saevus desperately tried to regain control but Toothless wouldn't let him as a massive plasma blast exploded onto him, sending him crashing into the murky water with a large splash. Then there was a moment of silence before the grey clouds loomed above them, rain beginning to fall onto the water as it created ceaseless ripples.

Toothless landed on a nearby rock formation as he waited, eyes alert, for any sign of the dragon to appear. Then, after a few moments, Saevus reappeared by the side of the rock formation as he dragged himself, with much effort, onto the rock as he roared in pain at his missing left foreleg. Toothless grinned, somewhat sadistically, at the sight of the monster before him grovelling in pain before the latter dragged himself to a standing position and began to blow a heated flame onto his ever-bleeding wound.

"_You_..._bastard_..." Saevus wheezed as he finished closing the wound with his fire and glared at Toothless' glowing form. Toothless seemed to not notice his comment. "How's the little shit? Did you bury him yet?" That got Toothless' attention. Attention perhaps best _unwanted_.

"He's still alive." The statement didn't seem to enrage Saevus like Toothless had thought it would.

"Don't make me laugh, asshole. I can no longer feel his presence," he replied and Toothless' eye twitched. "I bet you're real sad, aren't you, poor hatchling?" he added, attempting to insult Toothless with a babied voice. Of course, his attempt wouldn't work but as soon as Saevus had mentioned it...Toothless realised that he really couldn't feel Praze's presence anymore, and he thought back to Ace's weeping form on the hill. His eye twitched and something...changed. He felt nothing. He was already without mercy...but there was no longer any trace of ethical empathy or compassion. There was a slight tinge of sadism beginning to grow in Toothless' mind.

"Unfortunately, it seems you've lost your foreleg for the rest of your life. I wonder how that happened?" Toothless asked, almost casually. Saevus' face immediately contorted with rage.

"_YOU LITTLE-"_ but Saevus' sentence was abruptly stopped when Toothless placed his tongue on his teeth and blew a small, perfectly concentrated plasma blast directly into Saevus' remaining eye. "-_AHHHHHHHHHH_" he screamed out in pure agony, smoke coming out from his burnt-out eye socket. "_YOU FUCKING PEICE OF SHIT ASS CUNT SON OF A BITCH" _he yelled viciously as he rolled on the ground, clutching his face with a stump and his one good forepaw.

Toothless moved ever so gracefully towards the vulgar monster on the ground, his strides full of confidence. "It's unfortunate," he began as the rain pelted him and drowned out Saevus' cries, "unfortunate that you can't see anymore. I guess I'll just have to break you as atonement for your sins."

But Toothless didn't expect what happened next. Saevus brought his claw to his right eye and slit the wound, blood beginning to drop from it as a dark shade of brown revealed itself from the red. He grinned once more as his throat glowed and Toothless' eyes widened before Saevus shot directly at him, Toothless only barely having enough time to place his wings out in front of him as he blocked the blast but he was thrown back from the shockwave.

"Smart move," Saevus grinned evilly as Toothless got up with little damage, his newly recovered right eye glaring out at Toothless. "You nearly fell for it again, you're lucky you moved the shockwave away from your body but now I'm sure your wings feel like hell."

Toothless couldn't help but groan as he lifted himself to his feet, his wings feeling as if they were shattered. He knew they weren't, but he wouldn't be able to fly for a while without an immense feeling of pain.

"I must admit, I certainly didn't expect you to still have your other eye," Toothless muttered, dusting himself off as his blue hue continued to glow.

"No...that bitch scratched right across it and nearly took it out but I closed my eyelid in time. Then it swelled over, and I couldn't be bothered cutting it open until now," Saevus replied. "But what _I'm_ interested in right now...is why you're glowing blue..."

Toothless smirked.

"Do you think I'd tell you, even if I knew? It doesn't matter you still have another eye, what makes you think I won't just burn that one up as well?" he asked, slowly losing his patience with small talk; just wanting to plunge his claws and teeth right into Saevus' throat to watch the blood spill out. But he knew he had to wait for the right time; he didn't want to waste the plasma ball he'd been charging since Saevus healed revealed his other eye. He only just decided to reflect on their earlier fight, and decided to see if he could catch the Saevus with the same trick.

"Well, I doubt you'll be able to again. I'll kill you before you have the chance, and then I'll go to the female and-" but before Saevus could describe all the disgusting and disturbing things going on in his head, Toothless snapped. His irises narrowed into slits as he let loose the plasma blast he had charged and Saevus had no chance to react, the large dragon taking it straight into his chest with a loud roar of pain that rivalled even the sound of the shockwave going off.

Saevus flew across the rock, rolling and tumbling, before he finally came to a stop, sprawled on the ground in a heap. When he began to struggle to get up, Toothless was already upon him. Saevus looked up at him and it was the only warning he got before Toothless' claws plunged deep into the eye socket with his remaining eye and he screamed in agony once again.

"_THE WORLD DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE LOOKED UPON BY YOUR WRETCHED GAZE!" _Toothless yelled in pure livid fury as his claws grasped around Saevus' eye, viciously tearing it out of his socket, causing another mangled scream of pure pain and agony to emanate from the larger Fury. Without a second thought Toothless crushed the piece of white flesh within his paws before taking sight of Saevus' one good foreleg and, once again, without hesitation, attaching his teeth to it and completely ripping the joints apart.

"_AHHHHHH_!" Saevus shrieked as Toothless continued his merciless torture, flipping the larger dragon onto his stomach and latching his claws onto the bones that connected wing to torso. "No..._PLEASE! KILL ME!" _Saevus yelled, and Toothless mused on the rapist's change of mind, continuing his task with a grin of sadism on his face as he dislocated the base of Saevus' right wing. "ARGHHHGHHHAHHHHHHHH!" Saevus moaned, the sound coming out as a mangled warble, and Toothless revelled in the pleasure of hearing that sound of despair coming from the dragon beneath him. Then, Toothless moved to Saevus' right wing and, if he could cry, Saevus would have done so when Toothless didn't just dislocate it- but _t__ore__ it off_ with a loud and wet ripping sound. "_Stop..."_ Saevus mumbled- _pleaded_ -, completely broken through his pain. Toothless just rolled the larger dragon over and smiled at the sight of him begging before him, his horribly disfigured body giving Toothless pleasure in justice.

"_Okay._" Toothless nearly hissed the words as he clamped his teeth down once more, this time onto Saevus' throat, before ripping them out again and taking a large portion of the larger dragon's neck with him. Blood began to pour out of the gaping wound; a sickening sight of blood and Saevus' mangled throat. But Toothless wasn't done as he lifted one paw and smashed it down onto Saevus' larynx with an immense amount of force, causing the neck vertebrae to shatter completely, before Toothless ripped the head off with one final movement and threw it into the billowing ocean.

Toothless stepped back when his senses finally came back to him. His paws enclosed around his head as he began to hyperventilate, the sheer brutality of his actions finally seeming to register with his morals.

He then let out one massive wail of shock as he began to shake at his brutally sadistic actions...not believing that he could ever be capable of feeling such pleasure from torturing one so _brutally_.

"_WHAT THE FUCK!"_ he yelled at himself as he pounded his forepaws into the ground, his body soon following as he collapsed into a fit of sobs. He stayed like that for what seemed like hours, only the rain possibly competing with his tears of rage towards himself as he finally remembered one thing. _Praze_.

Toothless shot into the air, ignoring the harsh pain in his wings, as he rushed back to the island with all his speed, the rain pelting up against him. It was only a short while before he landed in front a sobbing Ace and a peaceful-looking Praze.

"A-Ace...Ace!" Toothless exclaimed, shaking her with his paws. No response. She just continued to sob.

With a pained look in his eyes, Toothless slowly turned to where Praze rested and walked up to him, ignoring the rain against his face. He stopped in front of the young Fury before he stooped down and rested his head against his chest, the terrible feeling of anxiety and doubt clogging up his mind. What he heard killed something inside of him...because he heard nothing. No heartbeat. No steady rise and fall as lungs took in oxygen. Just the sound of the rain, beating against them. And Toothless could not bear it any longer, his tears falling more freely than ever before.

Praze was dead.

* * *

****A/N****

****Now I'm sure you must all hate me. I really messed with you, didn't I? You all thought he was going to survive, didn't you? Maybe some of you pessimistic people thought he would die, though. Anyway. Please leave your thoughts and comments in a review, that would be greatly appreciated!****

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	18. Part One: Ittirum Ianuas Cael (17)

**Part One - #17 Irritum Ianuas Cael **

* * *

The rain pelted Toothless' still, trembling, form as he sat in pure silence, the only sound being that of the rain's cries.

"Why..." His voice was barely a whisper, his heart not bearing the immense depression that had sunk into his very core.

He sat there and wept, crying his heart out, not giving a care in the world as his sadness began to swallow him up. However... he wouldn't let that happen. He knew Praze wouldn't want him to dwell on the past, that was one thing he was sure of. So Toothless gathered himself to a respectable state before attempting to pick up Praze's body, but to no avail. One look at Praze's still, peaceful, form was enough to nearly send him into tears once more. But, he pushed through his depression and sadness and tried once more to pick Praze's body up, somehow managing to do so, before turning around to find Ace's mournful eyes gaze upon him with utter sadness.

"W-We... have to bury him," she murmured, somehow managing to speak up over the storm before she looked away at the ground.

"I... I know," Toothless replied, his breath ragged with sorry. "But... we need to bury him on Amicus." She looked up at his face again, seeing the pain, but also seeing everything else. Anguish, sadness, depression._ Admiration._ "It's what he deserves."

Ace could see everything, including his immense inner turmoil. Praze had been like a brother to him and, despite Toothless' stone face, she knew his suffering would be immeasurable. Even as the storm raged, a storm raged inside Toothless' chest and heart, and she could not bear it. Over the months she had spent with Toothless and Praze, she had come to like the both of them immeasurably. One she considered to be her significant other, and the other to be a very close friend. But that close friend was there no more. And Ace had to bear the pain of both losing Praze _and_ Toothless' pain of losing Praze.

"Come on..." Toothless muttered lifelessly as he put Praze onto his back gently. "Let's go."

Ace's eyes widened at the statement, the storm still blazing with lightning flashing and thunder roaring. "We can't fly in that..." she attempted to talk him out of it weakly, but he wouldn't have it.

"I can't just quit on him!" he exclaimed, tears flowing from his eyes once more. "Please, Ace!" She took one look at Praze, seeing his completely still form as rain poured onto him, seeing the lighter grey area under his eyes from the loss of blood, and she just couldn't take it.

"Ok, w-we'll fly to Amicus."

However, neither of them could have imagined the outcome they caused by doing so.

* * *

"T-Toothless! We have to land!"

Entropy reigned in the form of thousands of lightning bolts, fluorescent in incandescence, inanimate in its chaos. When the past determines the future, but the approximate past doesn't determine the approximate future, _that _is chaos. And _that_ was what surrounded the two Night Furies as they flew through emboldened dark clouds, their fate hanging by mere chance and luck.

"_NO!_ We're almost there..." The reply was shaky, and Ace couldn't determine whether the water on his face was rain, or tears. She was rapt with exhaustion, having been both deprived of rest and emotionally torn. Thus... she could never have been prepared for what happened next. It was almost in slow-motion, as if time had slowed, that Ace could see the spiralling pillar of light come down as if from the heavens, before connecting with Toothless and Praze.

"_TOOTHLESS-" _The sound of a large crack buzzed through the air and cut her off, an enormous light nearly blinding her as she dived towards his rapidly falling unconscious form. It took her no longer than two seconds to reach him but when she did, his eyes seemed to shoot open and he stabilised himself. She looked at him in confusion as his eyes darted around them, and it was then that Ace noticed Praze was no longer on his back. However, their attention was drawn to the ocean when a loud splash emanated from it and Toothless wasted no time diving downwards with sheer ferocity and speed, before he met the water and another splash made its way to Ace's ears.

Ace could do nothing but _hope_ as the large waves covered up any existence of life underneath them, giving her no indication of what was happening in the black, murky, depths that were the epitome of nature's serene rage.

Meanwhile, underwater, Toothless dived deeper as he saw Praze's body falling further and further from his grasp, and he cried out bubbles when his ear popped from the pressure, causing his eyes to close momentarily. When he opened them he gasped, wasting some of his precious air, because he could have sworn he saw a flash of ice-blue, but he wouldn't have known because the air bubble blew up his view and next he saw Praze, the young dragon's eyes were still closed peacefully. Toothless shook his head to clear it.

_You're imagining things._

He swam forward and grabbed ahold of Praze and, finally noticing the terrible pressure that was his lungs almost collapsing in on themselves from the lack of air, drew out his wings to push with all his might towards the surface. Within a few moments, he broke the surface with a gasp. Ace saw them and rushed over, breathing heavily.

"Toothless! Are you okay? You just got struck by lightning!" she blurted, overflowing with worry. Toothless could only chuckle weakly as he held Praze in his paws and flew out of the water with him.

"I'm fine, it seems that Praze was the one who was hit, I just got hit with recoil," Toothless replied as he motioned for Ace to take Praze from him. "Here, put him on my back." She complied and couldn't help but feel sad and shocked when she held Praze's lifeless body for the first time, her paws beginning to shake slightly as she placed him on Toothless' back and took a deep breath. "You ok?" he asked, and she replied with a weakly.

"Yes... n-no... I don't know..."

Toothless just gave her a warm smile. "Let's just be on our way," he said, effectively hiding his turmoil as the rain suddenly began to dissipate, the clouds continuing on their course. What was revealed brought a gasp to each of the distraught Night Furies, for there before them, was Amicus. It had previously been hidden by the rain, and now that they could finally see the end of their short journey, they could feel a sense of fulfilment and amnesty.

They quickly circumnavigated the island before slowly landing next to the sands of the beach in a small clearing of grass, where Toothless ever so gently placed Praze before nearly beginning to cry again at the complete peace that was emanating from the young dragon. But before that could happen Ace pulled him away from the grass and onto the beach, where the both of them laid down and found themselves in each other's embrace.

"It's gonna be alright, Toothless," Ace whispered as the both of them looked up to the stars and felt a small sense of happiness that the storm had cleared from their area, only for the overbearing sense of sadness and guilt to worm its way back again. "We'll figure things out... when are you going to bury him?" she then added, tentatively.

"I... can't now. I'll d-do it in the morning," he whispered despairingly and he felt her wings fold around him, holding him, comforting him.

"Alright. Get some sleep."

He offered a light smile as he gently nuzzled her under her neck, ever thankful for her presence and comfort, as she returned the gesture.

"You too... I love you."

A bright smile appeared on her face.

"I love you too."

With that the two Night Furies curled around each other and fell asleep in their embrace, the night sky comforting their endless sadness. If only the morning sky would bring with it an abundance of mellow thoughts and comforts.

* * *

"How are things, Cloudjumper?"

"Aye, things are well, Hiccup. The dragons are at rest now, even after being given the startling news."

"Good. There are many troubling times ahead... war shall be upon us. I just wish Toothless would arrive home soon. I fervently wish to speak to him, Cloudjumper, even as we build up Berq's defences. It will take some time until we have fortified sufficiently to Hakuryuu's description. I guess... we'll just have wait."

"And wait we shall, for I am sure he will return soon."

With that, Cloudjumper took off and left Hiccup to his thoughts.

_I prithee, Toothless, that you are in good health, my friend. Endless regards, _Hiccup thought, a smile on his face as he turned from the ocean and headed back to the village.

* * *

The morning sky was certainly mellow enough in its orange glare as it basked its light upon the sleeping forms of Toothless and Ace, and the sky certainly seemed to smile at their close and fond embrace. As the light reached their eyelids, they both began to stir and groan slightly.

"Mmmm... good morning," Ace murmured as she opened her eyes to see them both in a tangle of limbs with their tails entwined, and she had to stifle a laugh before she moved forward and nuzzled him gently. He groaned slightly at the touch, barely beginning to wake, before he opened his eyes and trained them on Ace's.

"Good morning," he replied similarly as he returned the nuzzle before leaning back and stretching, breathing deeply, taking in the fresh and crisp morning air. He laid on his back, and his expression seemed to remain neutral as he watched the clouds flow ceaselessly in the wind above. He let out a sigh, knowing that it was going to be a terrible morning for them. Ace also stretched out next to him, and he was so glad that she was there for him. He then got up to stretch some more, drawing out his wings and giving them a good, long, flex to relieve some of the pain he had attained by blocking Saevus' plasma blast then flying after that. He then turned to the horizon, and was baffled by the beauty he saw there, making him stand still for a few moments before he turned to Ace once more. "I suppose..." he began but trailed off at the claw she held to his mouth, effectively shushing him.

"Please, just continue admiring the view," was all she said, and was relieved when he complied. She wanted that baffled expression to stay there so she could remember it before it changed to that one of despair and sadness. She then smiled as she too began to admire the view as the sun rose from the waterline and cast its reflection on the calm water. But, like everything, it had to end. After several moments of serenity, Toothless cast his gaze to his paws and breathed solemnly.

"It's time."

Ace looked at him, her sorrowful gaze soothing him in his course of action, understanding resonating from those deep pools of amethyst. "Okay," was all she said with a soft smile, the dark aura of depression around Toothless beginning to lighten when she licked his cheek and nuzzled him, still marvelling in the sense of bliss, happiness, exhilaration and profound affinity that she got whenever she did so. It was the same for Toothless, but if not for the overbearing sense of loss and depression that suppressed it, he would have felt it on the same level as her.

"Come on," he murmured, moving over to the clearing of grass where they had placed Praze down, before his eyes widened and he gasped in shock. "W-What... is t-this!?" he choked out, incredulously appalled by what he could see. Or rather, what he _couldn't_ see.

Praze's body was gone.

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry for not updating sooner, I've been rather busy. I do hope you enjoyed, and that you will enjoy the next few chapters to come as we wrap up Part One. Don't get it wrong though, Part Two won't be a separate story, just in case you're confused. It'll all be in this story, labelled differently.**

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	19. Part One: Vita Sanare (18)

**Part One - #18 Vita Sanare**

* * *

**It took me vintage cheese and crackers, a coffee and some encouragement from mathmonkey167 to finish this off. I know it's not much, but it's something. I have been so, _so_ busy as of late, I have found myself with no time to write. Please enjoy this, this infernal chapter that took me so long to write, and take satisfaction in knowing that I'll be able to write the next chapter much faster.**

* * *

Toothless' breathing began to escalate. His heart began to pound. His body enveloped a cold sweat as he began to go into a state of shock and panic. Ace turned to him, confusion all but apparent on her face.

"I... d-don't understand." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Toothless' eyes widened and his initial shock began to subside, allowing him to focus. He wasn't going to let anything take Praze's body, no matter the cost. _Who would even?_ As soon as the question entered his mind, his disregarded it. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they would find him.

"Hold on…" Toothless began, his irises dilating as he smelled the air. "I can still smell his scent. He's still on the island. Somewhere." With that, and without warning, Toothless suddenly leapt after the scent with an insurmountable determination.

"W-Wait! Toothless!" she exclaimed as she hurried after him, her heart pounding. _Just what is going on?_ she thought. She began to follow him through his crazed path through the forest as he began flying, his body barely touching the ground as he weaved through the foliage with a determination so nonpareil Ace could feel it radiating off him.

Eventually they made it out of the thick virescence to find themselves at the base of the mountain, its steely gaze bearing right into them as Toothless smelled the air once more. Then, he smiled to himself as caught Praze's scent once again and he began to trail it around the base of the mountain, trudging alongside a ridge that opened up to the ocean. He gazed out to the endless blue before sighing a silent sigh, unfurling his wings once more to take off speedily around the mountain again. His eyes were wide and dilated, searching for that which was so precious to him. _Come on, where did you go, Praze,_ Toothless thought even as his tears began to build.

It continued like that for a while. Until, mercifully, they came to a stop in the clearing up the mountain. Toothless… couldn't continue anymore. He hadn't eaten since before Saevus had shown his filthy existence and it was taking its toll on his body, forcing him to stop and rest.

"Ace... I-I..." He got no further before he collapsed.

"T-Toothless!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to him, concern all but overflowing from her face. "What's wrong?" she asked as he laid on his back, an empty and weak expression on his face. His stomach rumbled and he shuddered, all of a sudden losing any ability to move. Tears spread to his eyes; he couldn't move and all he wanted to do was find Praze, yet there he was. Incapacitated. "Toothless, when was the last time you ate anything?" He slowly turned his head so that his green emeralds met her amethysts, and he shut them slowly.

"Before we left here." Ace had to strain her ears to hear his weak reply, and instantly narrowed her eyes at him.

"So you lied about eating when we were on that island? Why?"

"I... didn't catch enough fish for us all," Toothless replied softly. "So I just went without, it was no big deal-"

"Of course it's a big deal! I can't have you starve to death – I'll go get you some fish," Ace said as she stretched her wings out and Toothless immediately went to stop her before he caught sight of Ace's piercing eyes, and knew there was no point in convincing her otherwise. He rested his head back on the ground and sighed before he rolled onto his stomach and tried to get up.

"_Ooooff_," he grunted as his weakened legs dropped him to the ground once more, and he gave up to wait for Ace to return. He then laid there, staring up at the sky and noticing the grey clouds as they rolled across the scene, and just _thought_. He thought about everything that happened, everything that was going to happen. Everything that would have happened.

_You keep saying that, but where are we actually gonna go? I wanna see Berk..._

Toothless' eyes dilated and he shut them quickly as tears began to multiply and flow freely down his face. He placed his foreleg over his eyes and just... _sobbed_. He sobbed, and felt an overwhelming desire to curl up in a ball and just cry. So he did. He curled up and curled his wings around his body, enclosing himself and shielding himself from everything around him as he sat there for what seeming like an eternity. He didn't even realise when it started raining. He didn't even realise when Ace dropped the fish in her mouth, her jaw weakened by the sadness visible from the tears that fell from her eyes, even despite her will to stay strong.

So she stood there in silence as she collected herself, looking up to the sky as it stopped raining. Stopped raining from the sky, that is. Drops of water still fell, just... only from Toothless' eyes before her.

"Toothless..." Her voice was weak. He didn't hear her. "Toothless," she repeated, walking over to him, "I'm back... are you alright?"

When she placed her wing around him he noticed her presence and stiffened slightly, but he didn't stop crying and instead continued sobbing, ignoring her touch. When he spoke again, it was muffled from the wings and foreleg he didn't bother to move.

"I-I-I'm-m... s-sorry, Ace. I-I just need t-to..."

"Eat," she finished for him. "You're too weak right now, and I need you to stop punishing yourself," she said, hating herself for her lack of emotional response to help him soothingly. But she knew he needed to eat and get out of his depression, and she would not give up until he had. No matter how much it broke her. However, she just couldn't be so heartless and gave a weak smile as leant over him, as he was on his side, and moved his wing and foreleg from his eyes so that she could see his face. He turned to her slightly before she licked his cheek soothingly, and Toothless buried his head into the ground again.

"No," he murmured, and even _he_ didn't know why he was being so illogical. He didn't know why but he just didn't want to eat. He knew he needed to, and he was hungry, but he didn't want to. She was still licking his cheek when he tried to get her to leave him alone. "Please, Ace," came his muffled voice, "stop, I'm not hungry."

She stopped and her face hardened. "Toothless," she began, her voice stern, "if you don't eat, I will feed you like a hatchling. I'm sure you don't want that, so get up." When Toothless heard this, he stiffened. She got up off him and he rolled onto his back, a blank look on his face. She looked at him, seemingly wondering what he was going to do, before he just smiled cheekily and closed his eyes.

"I'm still not eating."

Ace smiled. It wasn't a cheery smile. It was a deviant one. Despite his determination, she was glad he was no longer wallowing in his sadness. But, Toothless should have known by then that Ace always followed through with her word. So, she silently picked up the fish in her mouth and walked over to him, gently stepping over his body so that she was directly above him when he opened his eyes once more. But, he opened them too late.

"Ace-" he began, but he was cut off when her lips met his and he found himself nearly gagging on the fish that found their way into his mouth. He took one look into Ace's eyes and didn't need another to understand the meaning in them.

_Chew._

He groaned inwardly but complied and chewed for a moment before swallowing and Ace got off him and smiled. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked, but Toothless couldn't respond. The blush that formed on his face was mainly due to the thoughts that ran through his head.

_That was just like..._ An image of Hiccup placing his lips upon Astrid's ran through Toothless' mind. _A kiss? Is that what they call it? _Toothless' face heated. _I can see why Hiccup enjoys it._

"Well come on," Ace began, interrupting his thoughts, "let's continue." Toothless' face immediately brightened and he shot to his feet, his energy beginning to return as soon as the fish began to digest in his stomach. His smile said it all to Ace. He was back.

"Let's go!" Toothless exclaimed as he sniffed the air once more, and his laughed as he raced up the mountain again, Ace following behind him. He ran and ran, eventually finding himself nearing the summit. He'd never been to the summit before, and it was incredibly high. As he continued, the scent began to get stronger. To Toothless, that didn't make sense. _Scents are supposed to get weaker when... _Toothless' heart skipped a beat and he shot up the mountain even further. _Why is it getting stronger!? _He raced even further towards the summit as the path curved its way around it. He ignored Ace's calls as she followed him, not understanding his sudden rush. That was, until she could feel it too.

"Oh my..." she murmured as the two of them finally made it to the top and they stopped. Their mouths opened and their jaws dropped, their hearts beating vividly.

A black form before them slowly turned, before a smile spread across its face.

"Well hello, you two," Praze greeted them.

* * *

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	20. Part One: What Awaits Us (19)

**Part One - #19 What Awaits Us**

* * *

Toothless and Ace stared at the dragon before them, bewilderment all but apparent on their faces. A mix of emotions so strong were crashing inside of them and it left them speechless.

"What's with this dark and gloomy attitude? I woke up – on Amicus – to find you two snuggling together and I easily pieced together what happened. I knew you'd taken out Saevus. I just went for a walk up here to stretch out because I felt really stiff for some reason, most likely from blood loss – oh and thanks for saving me, I thought I was a goner for sure!"

_Is this… real? _Toothless thought as he slowly walked towards Praze. He walked right up to him and poked him with his paw. "A-Are you… real?" Toothless asked and Praze had to contain his laughter.

"What!? Yes of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Praze questioned and Toothless' face immediately changed.

"Y-You… d-died! Your heart stopped beating!" Toothless exclaimed as he breathed heavily and Praze's smile instantly faded.

"What…?" the younger dragon asked aloud as he slumped to his haunches. His face then took on a concentrated expression as Praze began to think through everything. Ace spoke up for the first time as she walked over to them.

"Your eyes have changed colour, too. They're still blue but the orange is gone. It's been replaced by purple! What's going on?!" Praze noticed her but he didn't stop thinking.

_I fell unconscious from loss of blood. My heart would have stopped beating from the lack of oxygen. And… Amicus?_

"How did we get to Amicus?" Praze asked directly.

"I flew you here on my back… we… we were going to bury you here, Praze," Toothless muttered sombrely. "And I'm so happy you're s-still alive just… how?"

"Was there a storm?" Praze asked again.

"Yeah," Ace nodded. "And it was a big one at that." Praze then nodded in reply as a smile formed on his face.

_On the way to Amicus, my body got struck by lightning and it restarted my heart. The heat generated burned the melanin layer off of my iris, causing it to change the colouring of my eyes._

"One last thing, was I struck by lightning?" Praze asked and Toothless and Ace looked at each other.

"Yes," they replied congruently. "It gave us quite a scare," Toothless continued. "It struck you and I and we both fell towards the ocean. I regained my consciousness but you ended up falling into the water and we nearly lost you."

"Oh… so that's what that strange dream was. Or, memory," Praze muttered before he looked up to see Toothless and Ace's confused faces. "Oh, I was underwater and I saw Toothless coming straight for me but I fell unconscious again."

"I knew I saw your eyes open!" Toothless exclaimed, causing Praze to laugh lightly.

"Well, it's a good thing I was struck by lightning otherwise you wouldn't be talking to me now. The electrical energy restarted my heart and the immense heat burned the melanin layer off my eyes, hence the colour change," Praze summed up his findings before he turned to a puddle next to him. "Oh, look. They really did change… how fascinating!"

Toothless and Ace were speechless as they watched the young dragon before them. Ace couldn't take it any longer so she just walked up to Praze and embraced the younger dragon.

"I'm glad you're okay, Praze," she whispered, a smile forming on her lips.

"Thanks, Ace," Praze replied before pulling slightly away from her. "Okay, you can let go of me now."

She conceded and let him go as Toothless nearly fell over from the realisation that came to his mind.

_We're all safe. My nightmares have stopped. We… can all go to Berq._

"Ace, Praze," Toothless murmured, barely containing his excitement. They tilted their heads in confusion as they turned to him. "Let's go… to Berq."

A cacophony of wind rustling through trees was all that could be heard after that. Praze and Ace had gone silent, before the two of them began to speak at the same time.

"Finally!"

"Yes! I can't wait!"

"This is going to be so fun!"

"I can't wait to meet everyone!"

"Me neither!"

"OKAY okay, calm down. By my estimation it's about a two day flight from here. At least, that's judging by how strong the scent is," Toothless explained, though Praze had a conflicted expression on his face. "What's up, Praze?" Toothless asked him.

"I can't fly for that long yet. I can't actually fly at all, yet," Praze replied calmly, much to Ace and Toothless' dismay. "I haven't reproduced enough blood yet for me to partake in any form of strenuous activity."

"Oh," was all Toothless muttered. "So… how long do you think until you can fly again?"

"Well… I think my body will have accumulated enough for me to fly a full day's worth in about… a week? If we have a day's break in between, I think we should be able to leave in a week's time."

Both Toothless and Ace couldn't maintain their composure when he announced that, and just laughed and jumped up and down with joy at the thought of going to Berk in such a short time. It was so exciting for Ace, being able to meet all the people Toothless spoke of in his stories. For Praze, he contained his excitement about meeting the people from Toothless' stories, but he was more excited about exploring Berq and the potential it had. Toothless… Toothless was ecstatic that he was going home to his friends again. Home to Cloudjumper, Stormfly and the dragons of Berq. Home to Hiccup and Astrid.

_Home to all my Alpha duties…_ Toothless then added with a snort, but knew it would all be worth it.

"All right then. It's settled. We'll leave in a week's time."

* * *

Later that night, the three of them were huddled around a warm fire on the crisp sands of Amicus, by the soothingly soft splashes of the waves on the shoreline. Each had a small amount of fish to eat, and found themselves to finally be at peace once more.

"So… you two are mates now?" Praze asked, not looking up from his fish. Toothless flinched, unsure how to answer that.

"Not yet," Ace replied flatly as she took a bite from her fish.

_"Not yet"!? _Toothless thought as his face heated.

"Interesting answer," Praze replied, smiling cheekily. "You two are great. I knew it would happen, just to think my death would spur it?"

"Shut up, Praze!" Toothless replied quickly, muttering under his breath. "It happened just before _he_ showed up!" Praze noticed something in his sentence and raised his brow accusingly.

"Oh, and just what 'happened' before he showed up?" Praze asked innocently and he had to contain his laughter at Toothless' red face.

"_Nothing_ happened!" he exclaimed, growing desperate to end Praze's teasing. It was killing him. "Praze…" he began darkly, "I will end you if you don't SHUT UP!"

Through all this, Ace was laughing like mad, but couldn't help but notice Toothless' reaction when she'd said '_not yet'_. He didn't deny it, in fact his actions supported her answer. That made her feel happy… and a little anxious. It was a good anxious though. The kind that made her feel all warm in her stomach.

"Hey, I'm just being curious. Besides, what happened to your tail? How'd you regenerate it?" Praze asked, and Toothless was silently relieved that he changed the subject.

"You're observant," was all Toothless replied. "That's gonna be a real problem, you know. I'm not going to be able to get away with anything with you around." Praze grinned at that. "But anyway, it turns out what you said was true. The cells in the local area maintain the genetic code and saliva activates that code to regenerate it, almost perfectly. Well, pretty much perfectly. It was Ace's idea to try it, and it worked."

"Interesting…" Praze murmured before unceremoniously collapsing on the ground, much to Toothless and Ace's alarm. Fortunately, after closer inspection, it turns out he was asleep. Out like a stone. It was no wonder, either, with the amount of blood he'd lost.

"I think that's our cue to follow, eh?" Ace laughed softly as she got up and walked over next to Toothless before laying down and curling up next to him. He smiled as he leaned his weight into her and reciprocated, feeling more at peace than ever.

"Knew it," came Praze's voice across the fire.

Toothless and Ace's eyes shot open before narrowing to slits. He completely tricked the both of them and they were pretty annoyed, but he seemed unfazed.

"I call mercy on the injured, plus, I was only curious," Praze added flatly before he curled up and shut his eyes. Ace was too tired to bother so she just laid back down again and shut her eyes. "Yes I'm going to sleep now but I want to stay asleep," he added before he opened his eyes once more and winked at Toothless, "so don't be too loud."

Toothless' eye twitched.

_He is sooooo going to get it once he's recuperated. _

* * *

**A/N**

**Another short chapter but it was necessary ;) please leave a review to let me know your thoughts.**

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	21. Part One: State of Being (20)

**Part One - #20 State of Being**

* * *

Toothless woke to the sound of crashing waves, beating the formless sands into curvature as they carried the minuscule rocks out into the ocean. He let out a yawn as he slowly moved away from the still-sleeping form beside him and stood up, stretching and cracking his tired bones with a set of satisfying cracks and pops. He sighed softly at the pleasuring cracks before he turned to the rest of his company. Praze was completely out of it, sprawled across the sand in a complete and deep sleep. Toothless couldn't complain; the young fury had gone through a lot. He turned quietly to see Ace sleeping peacefully and he smiled, taking in the sight. He could imagine what Hiccup would say. _Toothless, you found quite the catch, eh? _Toothless couldn't argue with that. Ace was the most beautiful and exquisite being he had ever laid eyes on.

He blushed when he noticed that he was staring at her, and quickly moved off to the water to swim in the morning water's refreshing crispness. _Today's the start of a new day, _Toothless thought as he walked across the shallows, his nerves tingling from the chill of the water splashing up on him. He thought of everyone he left behind on Berq, and thought about what they'd say when he returned. He then stopped at the edge of the shallows and blushed heavily, realising the onslaught that would occur when they saw Ace. He would be embarrassed out of his mind, especially by Cloudjumper and Stormfly, and he didn't even want to _think_ about Hiccup's insinuations.

_I'm in for a lot… _Toothless thought as he sighed and dived deep into the depths of the freezing water, almost shocking himself with its harsh cold. He quickly acclimated to it and noticed movement in the water. _Fish, _he thought before an idea popped in his head. _I should probably catch us all some breakfast. _With that, Toothless darted around and began to catch as much fish as he could before returning to shore with his mouth full. When he returned, Ace was already awake and stretching. Praze was still out like a light which made him chuckle, causing Ace to notice him.

"Oh, hey, good morning," she greeted him as he dropped the fish from his mouth.

"Morning," he replied, shaking himself off lightly. "Sleep well?" he asked and she nodded, a smile appearing on her face.

"Yourself?"

"Yeah, especially when I get to sleep next to you. You're very comfortable."

"Why thanks. You're not so bad yourself," she replied, both their smiles lighting up their faces.

"If I have to listen to this every morning…" a sleepy voice began and they both turned to see Praze yawn and stretch. "I would willingly go deaf." Toothless narrowed his eyes at him.

"I take it you didn't want any fish this morning?" Toothless asked flatly and Praze seemed to contemplate it for a moment.

"Fine…" he muttered sleepily. "I won't talk anymore."

Ace chuckled lightly at Praze's fleeting cheekiness, smiling at his and Toothless' banter. "Better be careful, Praze," she began and he sleepily looked at her. "When you're better I can't guarantee you'll be a safe as you are now."

Praze's face immediately dropped and he tentatively looked over to Toothless, and he legitimately felt fear from the pure deviance he felt radiating off the larger dragon. _What have I done…_

"Ok. So. I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules before we get to Berq," Toothless began and the atmosphere began to change back to a lighter one.

_Phew… _Praze thought with a sigh of relief. "Such as?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, there are a _lot_ of humans. Humans that will be very intrigued by the appearance of another not one, but _two_ Night Furies. I suggest maintaining a healthy level of stealth because you'll be looked and gawked at a _lot_. Some may way to even come up and pet you – mainly the little ones," Toothless added, almost darkly, and Ace began to laugh.

"That sounds interesting. I think I like the sound of everyone looking at me," Ace said, but Toothless began shaking his head.

"You begin to feel completely enclosed by them all and you can't escape their grasp…" he muttered before he noticed Praze was unnaturally silent. "I'm sure you'd love that, eh Praze? All the attention will be focused on you," he added with a smirk.

Praze's eyes were wide and he was stone cold. The thought of all those people… everyone near him, touching him, focused on him… He shook his head to clear those truly terrifying thoughts. He looked up to Toothless. "Please… don't tell others about me…" he pleaded. "There's nothing I hate more than having attention focused on me. I prefer to stay away from others."

Toothless grinned evilly.

"Oh, don't worry Praze. When I'm Alpha again, you're such a good speaker that I just won't be able to resist having you be my advocate. You'll speak in front of _every_ dragon on Berq," Toothless jested, emphasising the 'every'.

Praze began to shudder. "T-Toothless, I'll do anything – just _don't _make others notice me…"

Toothless grinned evilly once more.

_Damn it… _Praze thought. _Oh well. They can't notice what they don't see._ He stopped his purposeful shaking and returned to his normal demeanour.

It was true that Praze was legitimately scared of being around to many others… being confined, with freedom restrained… To Praze, there was really nothing worse. It was an extreme case of claustrophobia, one that surpassed physical fear and divulged into mental and metaphorical fear. It wasn't just the fear of physical walls. Mental and metaphorical walls, too. However, just the thought of it wasn't enough to fully paralyse him. He was still calm, he could jump that bridge when he got to it.

"Oh well," Praze replied flatly and Toothless stared at him for a moment.

_Praze, you are ridiculous. You're so composed… _Toothless thought. _You are frightened, I can tell... but you can disassociate so easily…_

"Anyway," Toothless began as he cleared his throat and dissipated the awkward mood, "what shall we do today?"

"How about we just stay here a have a relaxing day on the beach?" Praze murmured, obviously still tired. "I think I'm…" he paused his sentence to yawn loudly, "… just gonna sleep." With that, Praze returned back to his position and shut his eyes.

"Well then…" Toothless trailed off, slowly beginning to realise just how tired he felt as well. "I think that's a good idea." Unfortunately his proposal had no recipient, as Ace had already followed suite.

And so, he shrugged his shoulders before conceding and laying back onto the inviting sand.

* * *

Most of the days followed the same agenda. They woke, ate, Praze slept the whole day, Toothless and Ace would often take a walk, but all up the days rolled by swiftly and calmly. They spent most of the time sleeping, but they still had some times when it was fun and exciting, like when Toothless and Ace had another water fight. Praze had to watch from the sidelines, despite wanting to join in so badly, but he knew he couldn't.

Eventually, the week had passed, and Toothless and Ace stared at Praze expectantly while he laid on the ground in confusion, having just been woken up.

"What?" Praze asked, completely discombobulated. They stared at him intently until his mind figured it out. Which wasn't long at all. "Okay, I haven't actually flown yet. It was only a rough estimate so let me try." With that, Toothless and Ace continued to watch him as he slowly got up, stretched, and unfurled his wings. He stretched them out, testing them, before killing the suspense by jumping into the air and speeding off up to the clouds… and he just _breathed_ the delicious air, laughing as he did so, before he eventually landed back down on the ground.

"Woah…" Ace murmured, amazed.

"Stop going to so fast, you're going to hurt yourself again!" Toothless scolded him, but Praze just laughed.

"Nah, I wasn't going fast at all," Praze replied, and he truly meant it. "At least, it didn't seem all that fast to me. Shall we go?"

"Oh – Yes!" Ace exclaimed, incredibly eager to finally be on their way.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Toothless grinned as he unfurled his own wings and took off.

"Yes!" Ace yelled as she followed him, leaving Praze to watch them soar off. He slowly turned around, and took in the whole of Amicus.

"I'll be back," he said as he gave a sort of bow, before standing up again and smiling. "Thanks for everything."

With that, Praze turned and speedily took off, and suddenly found himself next to Ace and Toothless.

"Woah!" the two older dragons yelled, completely surprised. Praze was just on the island, already five hundred metres behind them, and in under a second he'd appeared right next to them. "What the hell Praze!?" Toothless yelled. "What was that? How did you do that!?"

Praze didn't understand what happened either. He just thought he was there, and was instantly there. He turned to Toothless quickly, and the larger dragon could just see the trace of a fluorescent ice-blue emanate from Praze's eyes before quickly disappearing. "I don't know," Praze replied before laughing. "Oh well, let's go to Berq!" he yelled as he raced ahead. Ace and Toothless turned to each other and just shrugged.

_Interesting…_ Toothless thought.

* * *

An entire day's flying was certainly quite the task for the young Night Fury. It was already dark but they'd found an island to rest on and Praze was out cold before they'd even settled. Which left the elder Night Furies some space to talk as they sat up against each other by the fire.

"So..." Ace began, not finding the words she was looking for. Toothless looked at her as he smiled. She smiled back, remembering what she was going to say. "Any other pointers I need to know before we get to Berq?"

Toothless thought for a moment before smiling again. "Well, you're going to cop a lot, but other than that it's pretty much just as straightforward as it sounds."

Ace seemed puzzled. "And just what am I going to cop?" she questioned.

"Do you really want to know?" She nodded. "Alright then, basically it's just everyone is going to have a jest at 'us'." Toothless made a show of pointing between her and himself.

"And just what are they jesting at, Toothless..." she trailed off and the male dragon began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. On the inside, Ace grinned humorously.

"About us being mates and things like that," Toothless replied shortly, slightly looking away. There was a moment of silence as the fire cracked away, its embers burning into the night sky, before Ace spoke up again.

"What's so bad about that?" she asked coyly, leaning into him further.

"Well, u-um, we aren't mates though... at l-least... not y-yet..." he murmured with a large blush occupying his face, his voice almost a whisper. He realised what he just said and quickly tried to cover it, "I-I mean only if y-you want us to be mates..." At this point Toothless' heart began to race.

"Toothless..." Ace began, and Toothless turned to look at her, a weak smile on his lips. "I do want us to be mates..." she trailed off as she closed her eyes and laid her head down on her paws, leaning her head up against his shoulder. Toothless didn't think he was even capable of speaking anymore after she said that.

"I..." he spoke up before he cleared his throat and Ace opened her eyes again. "I... want to be your mate. I w-want _us_ to be mates as well..." he trailed off as he looked to her again and his heart almost burst from what he saw. The deep undying love that was in her eyes stunned him into silence.

"So..." She slowly left his side and stood up, gently unfurling her wings and stretching as she looked up to the sky. Toothless watched her intently, silently taking in what she was quite possibly about to do. A moment passed before she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and spoke again. "... do you think you can catch me?"

* * *

**A/N**

**On camp at the moment so I wrote this in the free time I had :) I hope you enjoyed it and if so, please leave a review! I noticed a few of you have stopped reviewing but I'm sure if you're just being lazy, don't like the story anymore, or a just annoyed with me for not updating in a while. So yeah. Do let me know and remember that I provide free entertainment so you shouldn't really be annoyed with having to wait when my life gets busy. I did just give you three chapters relatively quite close together, didn't I? I'm sure that makes up for anything else :)**

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**QuiteARandomFan – True but all people with blue eyes (in reality) don't have a melanin layer, whereas people with brown eyes do. I just incorporated this how I felt like it, it's not necessarily true.**

**So, that was 10 reviews. Let's try to get 11 this time? I know it's certainly possible; there's flippin' 71 people or so following the story. Also, we have 12,000 views now ;) thanks a lot everyone! Please continue to give your support!**


	22. Part One: Catharsis (21)

**Part One - #21 Catharsis**

* * *

**A/N**

**Hello my fellow readers! I have a notice for you all, and that notice would me for a good friend of mine! She goes by the name of mathmonkey167 on here, and you probably would have heard of her, but her stories are really flippin' amazing! Go and read "Of the Night" so you can read (well, both that and) the sequel, "Choices, Changes and Fate". She is such an amazing author and I guarantee that if you enjoy this story (DtN) then you'll enjoy both of those! I'll leave another reminder in the A/N at the end to make sure you don't skimp out on reading such an amazing story. Seriously, You'll regret it if you don't go and read it.**

* * *

It was a split second, but Toothless' instincts immediately kicked in. He rose and unfurled his wings in one smooth moment before he quickly jumped up and soared after Ace's fleeting form. All he knew was his instincts. It was something deep, something powerful, that surged within him and told him exactly what was happening. What he felt when saw her take off was something so indescribable that even he didn't know just what it was. All he knew was what he had to do, and it was rather simple. All he had to do was catch her. He didn't know it, but what Ace had initiated was in fact a traditional ritual passed down through all Night Furies' history. The male had to catch the female, and the female had to not get caught, to prove their worth as a physical representation of the determination set by each counterpart. The female's determination not get caught and the male's determination to catch them. It was a sacred and important part of two Night Furies becoming mates, the first part. The act of trusting and competing against one another in the frontier that was theirs; the sky.

Toothless could feel it. He could feel the importance of what was happening, even as he followed her through the endless night, and he would not give up no matter what. He would not lose.

* * *

Praze opened his sleepy eyes to find the empty spaces where Ace and Toothless had previously been. He silently raised an eyebrow as the fire cracked beside him and he silently got to his feet. Stretching simply, he allowed his tired body to feel the well-deserved satisfying pull on his muscles as he let out a sigh and looked to the night sky, admiring the multitudinous constellations before slowly leaving their camp and walking out into the forest. He noticed the slight amount of dew on the leaves of the tall trees, coming to the conclusion that it had rained there earlier. He could sense that the area they were in was a Sun Principle. Amicus' Rain Principle was rather large and was home to many different islands, but most Principles were rather small like the one they were in. Either way, it didn't bother Praze. He just wanted to get to Berq and once he got there he would make his final judgment on whether or not he would stay there with Ace and Toothless... or return and live alone on Amicus.

He sighed. _Decisions.._.

It really wasn't that hard to comprehend. Praze couldn't stand being around so... many. If it were a few that he knew well, then he could handle it, but he still needed his time alone to reconcile himself and gather his conscience. Times like now, where the wind coursed through the trees, giving him that, in his opinion, _wondrous_ sense of serenity and tranquility. It soothed and calmed him, allowing his mind to clear and focus. He would love to stay on Berq, but... he had to decide for himself whether or not it would overwhelm him or be bearable. Considering all options, Praze had decided it would be best to not let his presence be known to those on Berq, both dragons and humans, aside from the few Toothless had described to him as trustworthy. Namely Hiccup, Astrid, Valka, Cloudjumper and Stormfly. Who knew. Maybe he could, depending on the overall land mass of Berq, live on opposite sides of the described 'large' island than that of the village. Serenity and tranquility were both decidedly some of Praze's most paramount and inexorable things in his life so, unless he could have them, he wasn't going to be staying any longer than necessary.

Sighing once more, Praze stopped at the edge of a cliff and gazed transcendently at the incandescent and luminous full moon, bringing all of his worries before him. After all the time he had spent with Ace and Toothless, he had forgotten his original goal. But nonetheless, he remembered and smiled, his eyes glowing with determination.

_Where are you, Viri? _

* * *

Hours had passed, but time was of no consonance to the pair. Their dance continued and no amount of fatigue could deter each counterpart, though from time to time it was clearly apparent. Be it either Ace or Toothless' faulted wing beat or wrong turn, both made mistakes. Even so there were many times Ace wanted Toothless to catch her, for him to hold her, embrace her, _take her_. But she resisted. She continued fervently without hesitation, barely but constantly outmatching him. Toothless on the other hand was completely focused. His mind was travelling through the different scenarios in which he could catch her and _how_ to catch her. Things like how he could use the small clutter of islands with large cliffs to his advantage. And so, he had done just that and now, with the sky completely dark, the two's flight had ended in a large clearing of grass with a single willow tree in the centre.

Toothless had caught her.

In the soft grass their pants and puffs of exhaustion could be heard for a time before gradually diminishing into a small, indistinguishable huff of breath as they replaced the oxygen in their lungs. After more time passed, Ace spoke.

"That... was well played, Toothless," she said with a slight chuckle, somewhat straining slightly under the weight of the male on top of her. Her stomach was to the ground, him on her back. "Using the cliff face like that... I never would have thought. You win." After a few moments, Toothless lifted himself up and off of her to let her stand and face him. She gave him a smile and he smiled back.

"That was... fun," Toothless said, moving to a sitting position while averting his gaze from her. "What... what happens n-now?" he then asked, a red streak appearing across his face. Ace giggled lightly before she walked up to him and nuzzled him softly.

"Well, now, I'm sure you know the answer to that," she whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine, before he took a deep breath and smiled. He looked deep into her eyes and felt a fulfilment he couldn't explain overcome him.

"I'm sure I do," he whispered in return and with a gasp from Ace, he pulled her with him into the soft wisps of grass beneath them.

* * *

The sun's rays were harsh. As usual. They bleated onto Toothless with an unwavering consistency, causing his eyelids to flutter and irises dilate at the sudden exposure. He got to his feet and stretched, giving off a sigh as he turned to the sleeping form of Ace beside him. It took him a moment before he remembered the night's occurrences, but it only took his face an instant to heat incarnadine when he did. He quickly looked away and cast his gaze over the cliff and out to sea, where the horizon imbued the illustrious golden haze of sunlight. Toothless had to squint to see out over the water and unfortunately gave up some of his peripheral vision to do so, giving an unknown assailant the perfect to sneak up behind him and...

"Good morning," Ace whispered as she nuzzled into his neck affectionately. Toothless turned to her, a smile appearing on his face as he leant down to nuzzle her in return.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" he asked, moving back a little to look into her eyes. She did the same but she stood back a little further to stretch, not shy to stretch in a slightly more revealing manner than usual, making Toothless' face heat once more. "Was that necessary?"

"Of course, and yes I did sleep well," she replied, a slight smirk evident on her face. The smirk grew when she turned to him and giggled lightly. "Thank you... last night was the best thing to ever happen to me." Toothless' blush grew further.

"I-I agree..." he murmured, keeping his eyes to the ground. He shook his head to clear it as he remembered something, and looked back up to her. "We should probably get back to Praze now, I'm sure he'll be wondering where we are. By my estimation we're about ten minutes away, so we should hurry back now."

"Alright then," she replied, walking past him through to the trees that surrounded the meadow. Her smirk reappeared as she turned her head to the sky once more. "And I don't doubt we'll have some more... _eventful_... nights in the future."

_Thud._

Ace turned her head to see Toothless had fallen face-first into the grass. "I-I think I t-tripped on s-something..." he muttered, keeping his widened eyes on the ground before him, but the immense red streak across his cheeks would say otherwise.

_Thud._

Toothless finally looked up to see Ace fall onto her back, her paws desperately holding onto her mouth. However, it was just too much for the poor female.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

Praze turned his head to the sound of wingbeats, but didn't even need to smell the air to know who was there. He promptly shut his eyes once more as he bit into one of the fish from the fresh pile next to him, leaning his head back up against the tree he had his back to.

"Good morning Praze, sleep well?" Ace's voice drifted into his ears and he opened one eye before closing it again with a sigh.

"Yes. I caught some fish for you, seeing as you were off elsewhere," Praze murmured, taking another bite. _Doing God knows what, _he thought without paying too much to his thoughts. Suddenly he stiffened as he realised, and he felt like he'd been mentally kicked. _Why did I remind myself..._

"Toothless and I spent the night elsewhere after we went for a flight," Ace stated, her mouth watering at prospect of fresh fish.

"I noticed. I gather you two are mates now?" Praze asked, almost nonchalantly, his indifference somewhat denoting.

"Yep," Ace replied as she dug into her fish, instantly devouring it to satisfy her empty stomach. Praze then turned to Toothless and immediately saw the message in the older Fury's eyes.

_Say anything and you're done._

Praze merely chuckled a light chuckle to himself, engaging himself in his fish again as he thought of a way to torment the older dragon. Ace would remain unchanged at his comments but he knew that Toothless would always have something to say on the matter. Then, the young Fury smiled.

"Aren't you hungry, Toothless? I'm sure you must be tired..." Praze instigated, causing Toothless' eye to twitch. However, before Toothless could make any comment or action, Ace walked up next to him and whispered something in his ear for a few moments. Praze then raised his eyebrow as he watched Toothless walk over to the pile of fish and sink his teeth into one.

"As a matter-of-fact, I'm incredibly famished," he replied, a slight smirk growing in the corner of his mouth. Praze hadn't noticed yet. If he had, he might have refrained from asking his next question.

_Let's turn it up a little bit to see if we can get reaction..._

"If Ace has that kind of power over you then I'm sure you must have had quite the time last night... right?" he asked, closing his eyes as he just waited for the explosion. But it never came.

"Yeah, we did. It was absolutely amazing," Toothless replied without skipping a beat. Praze's eyes shot open.

"W-What?!" he asked, almost choking on the fish in his mouth. Toothless looked directly into Praze's eyes and repeated himself.

"I said, we did. It was absolutely amazing." This time, the smirk was all but apparent on his face.

"It's a pity..." a voice came from beside Praze's ear, startling him. Praze turned to find Ace's face right in front of his. "... that you don't have a mate, Praze. How unfortunate that you don't get to..." she then took the liberty of leaning closer before finishing in a whisper, "... experience it." At that point Praze began to back away.

"O-Obviously..." he replied, taken aback. In a few short moments Ace had unexpectedly tackled him, pinning his back to the ground. His unease grew. "A-Ace... what are you d-doing?"

"I feel sorry for you, maybe I could give you a little taste of what to expect..." she trailed off, slowly moving down his chest. Praze's eyes immediately widened and his face turned red.

"T-TOOTHLESS! H-HELP ME!" Praze wailed before Ace fell off him and began to bawl her eyes out laughing. Praze turned his head slowly to see Toothless doing the same, the two of them nearly crying before eventually Ace stood up and walked over to Toothless, giving him the equivalent of a human high-five.

"You're right, Ace," Toothless said, wiping the tears from his eyes, "that worked _so_ much better than my threats."

Praze sat there, a dark aura surrounding him as he sat there in silence. _How did I fall for that? I should have noticed that if they were mates then Toothless wouldn't have sat back as he watched his mate..._ He stopped thinking. It would only make it so much worse.

"I must admit... that I was not expecting that..." Praze stated breathlessly. Toothless and Ace were beside themselves with laughter and all Praze could do was sit there and wallow in his embarrassment.

"I think it's safe to say that you won't be so jesting anymore now, right Praze?" Ace said, finally ending her laughing.

"That sure taught you, didn't it?" Toothless commented. "Your taunts won't work anymore, either. I am unfazed forever now." Praze sighed.

"I thought as much..." Praze trailed off, his eyes still distant. "You two are absolutely deviant. I... I'm at a loss for words here."

"Hey, that doesn't happen very often. Two good things came out of this!" Toothless exclaimed, finally causing Praze to snap back to himself with a smirk.

"Yeah, but this time you didn't deny it. You claim you'll continue to be unfazed..." Praze began, standing to his feet once more, "... but I doubt you'll remain so if I just change my attitude." Toothless then raised his brow, interested in Praze's choice of words.

"How so?" he asked, and Praze smiled.

"Well. I wonder if you noticed I've never been direct, hm?" Praze asked, but it seemed to have no effect on Toothless. "Like, I don't know, casually saying that you two mated."

"That's kind of obvious, Praze. You don't become mates by doing nothing," Ace cut in nonchalantly, and Toothless smiled and nodded in agreement.

_Perhaps I underestimated, _Praze thought, taken aback.

"Praze, I told you it won't work. You just _think _it will because that's what will work on _you_, so thanks for letting me know that useful information," Toothless stated, his grin turning evil, and that was when Praze realised his mistake. However, the young dragon was quick to recover.

_"_Pity you won't be able to use that information, though," Praze replied, knowing there was no point in denying it. He could shut Toothless down without being petty. "What are the chances of us coming across a Night Fury my age, huh? Exactly. I doubt I'll ever have a mate."

"You say that but there's no way it won't happen," Toothless replied and it was Ace's turn to nod her head in agreement.

"Yep. You're totally going to have a mate, I just only hope you find one soon so we can be as helpful as you have been," she said with a wink and Praze finally felt something new. Something he hadn't experienced nearly enough.

Defeat.

His heart beat fast, but nothing showed on the surface. "I suppose I must congratulate you. I will trouble you no further," he replied simply. As he turned away, Toothless stopped him.

"Oh I don't think so, you think you can get away, can you? I'm going to remember this until you find a mate, and then you're gonna get it," he said, grinning deviantly. Praze stopped and sat down by the tree again.

"At least I tried," he stated. Toothless snickered before he turned to Ace again, almost bursting out laughing from all that just occurred.

"That was the best!" Toothless whispered an exclamation, earning a light chuckle from Ace.

"Definitely," she replied. There was a moment of silence where nothing happened, and everyone seemed to be in their thoughts, until eventually Praze spoke up.

"So. Shall we go?" Praze asked. The two other Furies looked at him. "I'm ready when you are."

"Alright. From here we should make it by nightfall. Ready?" Toothless asked, and the other two nodded.

"As I'll ever be!" Ace exclaimed, suddenly all giddy. She couldn't have described the excitement she felt even if she tried. Praze could feel a similar sense, though just not as strong. He got up and walked over to the cliff, feeling a tenseness in his wings as he did.

_Must be stiff from laying up against that tree for so long,_ he thought. He continued until he reached the edge and look out to the horizon, finally feeling a sense of adventure. He turned around, a smile broadening on his face. "Alright, let's go then-"

Suddenly the ground beneath his feet gave way and his eyes widened. _The cliff is collapsing, get off._ He went to moves his wings... but they wouldn't move. Within the milliseconds it took Praze to recalculate and use his legs it was already too late... he was falling.

"Praze!" Toothless shouted, but he was far too late. He ran over to the edge, his heart and stomach in his throat, as Ace came up beside him with a similar expression of shock. Then their faces changed. One look over the cliff told them that Praze wasn't there and instead they hear a thump behind them. They quickly turned to notice Praze, flat on his back, staring mindlessly at the sky.

"What... just happened..." was all Praze could mutter, his heart beating ridiculously fast, his eyes wide. Toothless took one look at Praze and knew something was up. Praze's eyes were glowing again.

"You seem to have some kind of ability, Praze," Toothless began, becoming more confident in the words the more he thought about it. "Your eyes glow blue whenever it happens, and it first happened when you cut up Saevus the first time. Again when we left Amicus and you caught up to us really fast. I think you're able to move from one place to another instantaneously... somehow."

"Reconstruction..." Praze whispered as he shut his eyes and sighed. He opened them again to see Toothless and Ace's confused faces and sighed once more. "It was the very last thing my father ever talked to me about. Something to do with every Night Fury having some sort of ability within their eyes, given to them by various stars. Know why we are called 'Night Furies'? It's because our race was created by the stars, or _angels_ as some refer to them. Anyway... it seems that what my father said was true after all. Our family has a specific ability that we were all supposedly able to use... reconstruction. I never knew he was telling the truth... but that just opens up a whole knew horizon to explore!"

Toothless and Ace sat as they listened to him, bewildered by what he was spouting. Praze turned to them once more and grinned with enthusiasm.

"I want to try that again before we go!"

* * *

_Thud._

"Yes! One more!" Praze shouted again as focused and disappeared again. Ace and Toothless watched from the sidelines, their faces all but clearly showing their disbelief.

"This... is ridiculous," Toothless whispered to Ace as she turned to him.

"But if what he says is true, then maybe that was how I healed you," she whispered in return and his eyes widened as he remembered. "Not your tailfin, but your stamina and your superficial cuts," she amended.

"That's right, now I'm beginning to want to find Viri so that I can find out more about this," Toothless said. "Praze said _every_ Night Fury has these abilities... I want to know what I can do! Are you having any trouble believing in this?"

"Not necessarily, no. I mean, what we're witnessing before us is proof enough," she replied as she turned back to watch Praze disappear and reappear once more. "I wonder if it has something to do with Principles..." she trailed off and Toothless took the opportunity to lean over and whisper into her ear.

"You mean like how you apparently can turn white?" he asked, and she turned to him again.

"I can! I swear... as soon as we find a Snow Principle I'll show you!" she retorted and Toothless could only chuckle.

"I'll believe it when I see it-" Toothless began but he was cut off when Praze appeared before the two of them, giving them a shock.

"-Hello!" he exclaimed as they both jumped back, startled. "I can pinpoint where I want to go!"

"Praze! Don't startle us like that!" Toothless exclaimed, a frown on his face. But it quickly dissipated and was replaced by a smile of encouragement. "However, I must admit that was awesome," he complimented and Praze smiled. Toothless' expression changed once more to a much more menacing look. "Don't do it again."

"Okay, okay," Praze sighed before a revelation clicked. "Aren't we going to go to Berq now?" he asked and the question seemed to take a second to sink in.

"Yeah, I completely forgot. Oh well, shall we get a move on now?" Toothless asked as he turned to Ace and received a nod from her. He turned back to Praze and gave him a smile. "Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

It took them the entire day, to the point of it being completely dark, but eventually a large land mass began to form on the horizon and the excitement could literally be _felt_ in the air around the three black masses approaching it. Toothless was ecstatic. Ace was excitedly intrigued. After being able to see the land mass from such a distance, Praze became hopeful. Hopeful that it was quite large and that he could stay there. Nonetheless, all three of them were beside themselves but Toothless had to keep a clear head to think of a way he could surprise Hiccup. Well, little did he know such a surprise awaited him, but that would need to wait for now. Toothless had decided he would sneak Praze and Ace into the cove by going around the coastline and missing the village completely, then he would find Hiccup and show him.

"Alright," Toothless spoke up, "since it's dark, we're going to go around the side and miss the village. I'll leave you two in the cove and-"

"-You mean the cove that you fell into when Hiccup shot you down?!" Ace exclaimed in excitement. Toothless rolled his eyes at her interruption.

"Yes. Anyway, as I was saying before you cut me off, you guys can wait around there and I'll get Hiccup to come along. Sound good?" he asked and they both nodded. "Alright, follow me," he added, veering off to the right.

* * *

Another hour had passed from the wide berth Toothless gave the village to evade the sights of the watchers, a feature added after the war against Drago, and over the mainland they flew. They all felt an added sense of excitement, being actually _on_ Berq, even if they hadn't landed yet it was still an evident emotion.

"Alright, we're coming up on it now," Toothless stated as he began to drop altitude and the cove came into view. At this point, Ace's breathing escalated to the point where she was nearly hyperventilating. Toothless eyed her strangely. "Ace, you need to calm down," he added humorously as he chuckled to himself. She chuckled as well but managed to maintain her heavy breathing. Toothless rolled his eyes but within matter of seconds, they had landed.

"We're... we're actually here," Ace whispered breathlessly. She slowly looked around, taking everything in and breathing Berq's distinct smell, taking in the scent. Praze, meanwhile, had already done all of that and had walked over to the pond and sniffed at the water. Toothless noticed and wondered what he was doing.

"Praze, what are you-"

_Splash_.

"-Right. Swimming," Toothless finished as if nothing had happened. "Okay, I'm going to head off now, wish me luck. Just wait around here for me to return, okay? I'll be back soon."

"I will and I'll make sure to keep an eye on Praze to make sure he doesn't go wandering off," Ace replied, walking up to him and nuzzling his side. "Don't be too long."

"Don't worry, I won't be," Toothless replied as he returned the affection before spreading his wings and stepping back. "See ya soon." Then with a few shorts beats of his wings, he was gone.

* * *

As Toothless approached the village, he could instantly notice some changes. There were lights that lined the roads all throughout the village and on top of that there seemed to be more guard posts. _If I want to get in unnoticed I'm going to have to get in from above,_ Toothless thought as he veered upwards, noticing another thing. There was an enormous fortified wall around the entire village. _What's that about? Were they attacked? From the condition of the village I'd say that they're fine... so what is it? _Toothless would've gone and checked the wall out had he not other things to worry about. Like what he was going to say to Hiccup.

"This will be... interesting," Toothless thought aloud as he took a deep breath and began to descend. Within a few shorts seconds he landed soundlessly on the small hill behind Hiccups house, his heart racing as he neared it. He walked around until he found the side of the house with a large balcony on it and effortlessly flew up to it, careful not to make a sound, before he landed on the ledge and, with one more deep breath, stepped inside. It took him a few moments to get used to the dark, but eventually he could make out the inside of the room. He knew it was pretty late, so Hiccup would most likely be in bed and asleep. _He's going to wake and think he's dreaming, _Toothless mused to himself as he walked down the stairs and walked over to Hiccup's bed. _This is it!_ He prodded the covers once. No response. Again, he tried, but there was no reaction. Toothless prodded further and found out that Hiccup was actually _not there_. Toothless subconsciously scratched the top of his head as he whispered to himself, "that's odd. Must be out." After that, Toothless heard a noise from the corner near the fireplace.

"Who's there?" a deep voice sounded, and Toothless couldn't picture who it was. He was about to say something before he realised.

_Cloudjumper. _However, just as he was about to respond, another voice came from the corner adjacent to it.

"Cloudjumper," a sleepy, matured female voice called, "what's wrong?" After this, the sound of rushed movements could be heard and Toothless realised he needed to make himself known if he didn't want to be pinned under the guise of an intruder. But yet again he couldn't respond when Couldjumper replied.

"There's someone in here Valka! Turn the lamps on!" the Stormcutter exclaimed and the next thing Toothless knew was being pinned on his back.

"Get off!" Toothless exclaimed, somewhat lacklustre in remembering to let his friend know who he was. After a few seconds of struggling the room was suddenly lit up and Toothless found himself staring up at the already-startled face of Cloudjumper, and a sharp set of claws raised in the air.

"Toothless?" Cloudjumper asked in confusion, stepping off the Night Fury slowly as he did.

"Yeah, surprise! I'm back..." Toothless trailed off weakly, only then regaining his senses as he shook his head and got up. "Good to see you, not quite the warm welcome-home I expected but nonetheless I'll take it."

"But... this is so unexpected... and great! Great news! Wait until we tell the others!" Cloudjumper exclaimed as Valka walked over to them. Toothless looked at her and smiled, a gesture she reciprocated as she spoke.

"Now, Toothless, there have been some major developments on Berq since you were last here," she said and he nodded. "I think you should should come with me..."

* * *

"What do you think, Astrid?"

Astrid, Hiccup, Stormfly and Hakuryuu sat in Berq's deserted tavern, brooding expressions on their faces. A fire was going in the fireplace and the innkeeper had gone home. An intense meeting was currently being held and all manner of things were being brought up and put down as Berq's core _'_government' discussed them all. Things mostly about the war threat that was presented before them and things like how food supplies were running short. Little and big things having all manner of consequences attached if not handled correctly.

"Well, I think Valka should have made an effort to be here tonight," the young blonde replied as she crossed her arms. "Her opinion and wisdom would have been much more valuable than mine."

"You know that my mother is sick and staying at my house, and don't say anything about Cloudjumper not being here too. I think it's self-explanatory that he never leaves her side," Hiccup remarked, remembering the base question. "All Hakuryuu and I want to know is whether or not we should go ahead with this without Toothless. I personally think we shouldn't do anything rash until we have him here to help us, I just wanted to know if you agree or disagree."

"Agreeing or disagreeing won't really help the matter," Stormfly interjected. "Without Toothless there really isn't much point to a scouting operation, and _that's_ what's self-explanatory."

"She's got a good point," Hakuryuu joined in, his green and blue eyes observing. "I see no way a scouting would work without at least a Night Fury."

"If only-" Hiccup began but he was cut off by the sound of the door opening. All eyes turned to the entrance where Valka was standing, a question on her lips. "Mom, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked. "I thought you were sick?"

"Well, I still am. I just have a matter that I need you to attend to," she replied and Hiccup got up.

"What is it?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Just come outside, please," Valka insisted and Hiccup walked towards the door with a glancing look back.

"You all continue and I'll be back as soon as I can," he said and gained nods from them all. After a few seconds he was outside and in the fresh night air, and he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again he remembered why he was called out there. "So, what did you need me to attend to?" he asked, turning back to her. It was really too bad that Hiccup turned his back, he could never see the tail coming, swooping right at his legs. "Woah!" he exclaimed as he fell and hit the ground, becoming stunned and confused for a moment for a moment before he opened his eyes to see a grin staring down at him. His eyes immediately widened as he realised just what was in front of him. "Toothless?!" he yelled as he bolted to his feet and jumped onto the Night Fury with tears of joy already beginning to form in his eyes.

Toothless grinned as he rolled over with Hiccup on his stomach until he landed upright and pinned the poor man underneath him, licking his face in happiness and nostalgia. After a few more moments the playful reunion stopped and Toothless let Hiccup up.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment, to finally hear you," Hiccup began as he brushed himself off, confusion becoming apparent on Toothless' face. Hiccup quickly continued. "Toothless... a lot has happened. I... I can talk to you now. I can _hear_ your voice, I can speak dragonese! So please, say something!"

Toothless stared at him blankly for a moment. Who could blame him, either. It was a _lot_ to take in. _Is he serious?_ Toothless asked himself. _Well, there's only one way to find out. Here goes nothing..._

"It's... good to be back."

Hiccup's eyes widened again and he jumped into the air with excitement not known to many. "I CAN HEAR YOU!" he yelled as loud as he could and Toothless couldn't believe it.

"What... how? How is this even possible?" he asked but Hiccup just dismissed it with a smile.

"We'll tell you all in good time, but first. Please. I want to know_everything_. From the start. I want to hear your side because I never have. Come on, why don't we head on over to home so we can have a nice, long chat?" Hiccup suggested, but was surprised when Toothless shook his head. Confused, Hiccup was about to ask why but Toothless was already on it.

"I cannot express enough how much I would love to sit down and just _talk_ to you, Hiccup, but I have some other things I need to deal with first. Why don't you come with me? Let's take a nice, long walk," Toothless replied, and Hiccup smiled.

"Sounds good to me," Hiccup replied, and the two began up to road. Valka just smiled as she and Cloudjumper, also smiling, began to walk back up to Hiccup's house. Meanwhile, in the tavern, Hakuryuu was intrigued.

"You're not going to go out there and welcome him back?" he asked Astrid, but all she did was smile.

"Nope. I'm just going to leave them be so they can have some alone time. I already know that Hiccup's going to want to talk to him non-stop, and all thanks to you," she finished with a slight laugh. "Though I suppose we should all be grateful of your help. Didn't you also wish to see Toothless? Wasn't that one of the main reasons you even came to Berq, looking for the Nest to ultimately find him?" she then asked, but Hakuryuu just smiled.

"I think I agree with you. I'm just going to leave them be, there's always tomorrow," he replied as he closed his eyes and embedded himself more into his mottled green cloak. Astrid smiled again before she turned to Stormfly.

"Ready to go home? I think it's safe to say this meeting's adjourned," she directed at the Nadder.

"Might as well, I completely agree with you on that one," she replied with a slight huff of laughter.

* * *

"So..." Toothless began, feeling a deep peace inside of him. "How are things on Berq? I've noticed a lot of things have changed, and they don't necessarily look like aesthetic changes..."

"Well, I suppose you're right, but I don't really want to talk about that the minute you get back. I want to know all about what you've been doing for the past three months-"

"Three months?!" Toothless asked, bewildered. "It most definitely hasn't felt like I've been gone for _three months_!" he exclaimed. _Though, it seems logical enough with everything new around here..._

"Best believe it bud and I missed you every single day and why are we heading towards the cove?" Hiccup asked, swiftly changing from one topic to the other when he noticed the similar path that was being taken. Toothless looked at him and smiled weakly.

"Let's just say I probably haven't missed you as much as you've missed me but that's only because something happened that has sort of taken my mind completely off everything and, in fact, brought me out of my psychological distress," he replied. Hiccup seemed to take in, word for word, everything Toothless said before replying.

"I'm glad... so what sort of things?" he asked, insatiably curious.

"Well... let's start at the beginning, shall we?" Toothless chuckled lightly and Hiccup joined him.

"I suppose that's probably the most logical place to begin," Hiccup agreed, sighing heavily. "Alright. Go."

And although it took Toothless nearly the entire trip to the cove to explain it all, he had briefly summarised all the things that had happened to him since he left. Starting with meeting Praze, he talked about how intelligent, calm and introverted the young Night Fury was and about how said Night Fury managed to maintain a healthy level of energy about him despite this. He continued, talking about the minute adventures he'd shared with Praze on Amicus and all the things he had learned about their species before finally encountering Ace. When he mentioned the female Fury he had received several winks and nudges from Hiccup and Toothless could only roll his eyes. _If only you knew..._ Toothless had thought. He then continued once more, saying how they, though mainly Praze, had helped the female recover from a terrible injury and spent the next month or so with them, all growing a friendship as they did. Toothless then told him about Saevus and about how the wretched Night Fury had been the one to injure Ace in the first place. He told Hiccup about the prolonged fight that ensued and about how Praze had his throat slit in an attempt to help stop Saevus from shredding his prosthetic tailfin. However, Praze could only wound Saevus enough to make him go heal himself and Praze was left to bleed out. Toothless said he'd stopped the bleeding but there was nothing he could do and Praze had died.

When Toothless told him this he told Hiccup to remain quiet and said that he story wasn't over yet before he continued on.

He continued, saying how Ace had helped him heal his tailfin back thanks to Praze's theory, before he ultimately killed Saevus. He skipped ahead to when he and Ace were returning to Amicus to bury Praze and told Hiccup that when Praze's body got struck by lightning, his heart had restarted. His body was fine it was just that the lack of blood had stopped his heart, he said. After that, Toothless just told him how they waited for Praze to recover before they all made the journey to Berq.

"Wow." The statement was flat and all a baffled Hiccup could muster. "That is a _lot_ to take in, but it sounds absolutely amazing. And Ace and Praze are both here?" Hiccup continued, and Toothless could only laugh.

"Why do you think we're heading towards the cove?" the Night Fury replied and Hiccup's eyes filled with understanding, then excitement.

"This is all so... sudden and amazing! I really don't know what to say," Hiccup said and Toothless took a deep breath, catching his friend's attention.

"Look Hiccup, there's something you should know first," he said, stopping. His heart began to pound and his face heated but he wouldn't let it show.

"Which is?" Hiccup asked, stopping with him.

"Well, I'm sure you know that I couldn't possibly have told you exactly everything but..." he trailed off and looked away for a moment. He took a deep breath before looking back at him and continuing. "Ace and I... we're mates."

Hiccup's eyes widened as he processed the information Toothless gave him and a laugh almost escaped from the young man's throat. "All these years of looking, we always thought you were the last one left," Hiccup began as he walked over to Toothless and patted him on the shoulder. "Now we can get some more," he finished with a chuckle as he continued walking towards the cove again.

"Well I think that's enough of that for one night," Toothless replied quickly, abashed.

"Ohoho, that's new. A flustered Toothless," Hiccup commented with a smirk. Toothless just rolled his eyes and smiled with his rider.

"Whatever. Anyway, we're here," he murmured as he walked up to the ledge, but Praze and Ace couldn't be seen anywhere. "Where did they go...?" he asked aloud before he unexpectedly got his answer.

"I'm not too sure where Ace has gone but I was tailing you both from the village," a voice came from behind him and Toothless' face flattened to a scowl as he turned. Hiccup turned as well, startled at the sound of the Night Fury behind him. "I wasn't close enough to eavesdrop, don't worry I respect your privacy, but I am confused as to how Hiccup is able to understand you..." he trailed off again as he began to inspect Hiccup.

"So, this is Praze?" Hiccup asked and Praze lifted his head again to look at Hiccup's face.

"Yeah. Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you," Praze replied, instantly adapting to being able to converse with a human. Hiccup eyed Toothless.

"Oh really? Well, what about this _mate_ of yours?" Hiccup jested and Praze smirked.

"They only-" Praze began to mention but Toothless growled and stopped him from saying any more. With a slight chuckle Praze decided to actually stop for once. "Anyway, I think Ace decided to stretch her wings. Or sleep. One of the two."

"Shut up Praze. You're so helpful," Toothless commented sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and lifted his nose to the air to locate her scent. _That's strange_, he thought. _She's right-_

"Should I join the party?" another voice joined in from behind them. Everyone but Praze turned to see Ace standing there with a smile. "Hello Hiccup, I'm Ace. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you! It's seems I don't even have to introduce myself because Toothless has already done it for me," Hiccup chuckled before look into Ace's eyes. "However I must say, Night Furies do all have remarkable eyes! That's the one thing that really stands out to me, seeing so many at once..."

"Oh really?" Praze asked, turned from the stars he was viewing to join the conversation again. "No two Night Furies have the same eyes, each of them are different."

"Wow," was all Hiccup could say, shocked. "What else is there?" he asked and Praze chuckled to himself again.

"Here's a mind blowing one for you. Night Furies can actually turn into humans because of something to do with something, at least that's what my father told my brother and I."

To say Hiccup was shocked would be an understatement. "That is... weird. I'll tell you what else is weird though! How I'm speaking to you right now! There's this traveller who's doing a lot of stuff at the moment with us that I'll explain later but his hands are resistant to fire, he actually gave myself, Astrid and my mother the ability to speak to you and he knows so much about Night Furies! His eyes are pretty weird too, he's got one blue on and one green one, and he sort of... knows... everything...?" Hiccup began to slow his speech when he noticed the way the three Night Furies were looking at him, specifically Praze. The young dragon moved forward with emboldened eyes, a heavy aura manifesting around him.

"Take. Me. To. Him. _Now._"

* * *

**A/N**

**DUN DUN DUUUUUN! Plot Twist! Plot twist that you should have seen coming a thousand years away! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because _I_ certainly did! Although it took a while, I'm sure it was well worth the wait. On top of that, I've actually finished school and I'm already starting my original novel, so the pressure's going to be on. **

**Anyway, now that you have nothing better to do, GO READ "Of the Night" RIGHT NOW! And because mathmonkey and I would both like to receive feedback, you've got to read _and_ review on both my story and hers. Got it? Yeah, that's right. What's that you say? I'll be more inclined to writing more if you all review on not only _mine_ but _mathmonkey's_ story too? You're damn right. Get reading and reviewing so you'll end up in the Support Award section.**

_**Support Awards (Yeah, new name. Doesn't change the fact that if you're in here you're AWESOME!)**_

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**See you all in the next and as always, have a good one!**


	23. Part One: Indomitable (22)

**Part One - #22 Indomitable**

* * *

The moon still shone down incandescently, and its waves of light could have been said to be the only thing keeping Praze from charging into the village without a level head. That being said, he managed to stay rather calm and he retained his ability to think objectively. He didn't want the village to know of his existence. _Lure him out_. He needed to talk to the 'Hakuryuu' and have a nice, long chat with him. Then, c_apture._ Praze smirked indignantly. _After all this time, you managed to figure out what our father was on about and you finally managed to turn yourself into a human, eh Viri? I'll believe it when I see it... when I see your eyes, hear your voice and reasoning-_ his thoughts were cut off by his own gasp when he saw him, for the first time, walk out of the tavern with Hiccup. _So far so good..._

After Hiccup had met Ace and Praze and found out that Hakuryuu may well be 'Viri', they had all set up a plan. Hiccup was to lure him out to the cove under the pretence of meeting with Toothless, or '_Silva_', as Viri knew him, then Praze would restrain him himself.

_And it's working perfectly,_ Praze thought as he began to tail the two back to the cove, much like he had done so to Toothless and Hiccup earlier that night. He gazed intently at the figure with the green cloak, who had only just revealed what had laid behind the cowl. All Praze could see was the back of his head, but all he really wanted to see was the cloaked figure's eyes. _Show me... _But Praze didn't have to wait long. In no time at all, the two had reached the cove and Hiccup turned to Hakuryuu.

"Listen... Hakuryuu, I need to ask you something. I... need to know the truth. Are you... are you a Night Fury?"

There was silence as the cloaked figure stopped and turned to Hiccup, a somewhat knowing smile on his face. "Yes," was all he replied with before he turned. "Now, who told you that? Did Silva? The only way I can see him knowing is if his brainwashing was lifted somehow."

"Well... Toothless hasn't had his brainwashing lifted. Instead, there are more Night Furies that he met when he left-" but Hiccup got no further as he was talking to an empty space. Instead, when Hiccup looked around, he found Hakuryuu in the centre of the cove. "What are you doing?!" Hiccup yelled out to him from the rim, and when Hakuryuu looked up to him all he could do was smile.

"Well, I'm not going to let whoever was tailing us try and ambush me now, am I?" he chuckled in response.

_He knew?_ Praze thought, but wasn't surprised. _He's had the same training as me, after all. _After a few moments Praze quietly walked past the stunned Hiccup and Hakuryuu smiled.

"There, he was a Night Fury after all, and a particularly skilled one at that. I doubt I would have detected him had I not felt the need to look after feeling uneasy for some reason. And my senses have never failed me, but now... identify yourself!"

Praze stood there in silence for a moment as he silently gained a darker presence, the air surrounding him becoming thick with it. "So, Toothless has another name, being Silva, and you know him... but you don't know me..." he trailed off his murmured reply to look directly into those blue and green eyes. "... you don't know me, Viri?" Praze saw a flash of unease go through those eyes when he finished, and Hakuryuu's face instantly showed the surprise.

"If Silva hasn't had his brainwashing lifted then how could you know my name!" he yelled, and everyone watching gasped in shock. Even Toothless and Ace, who were watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but do so. But not Praze. He remained unwaveringly calm, and it somewhat disturbed Viri. "How!-" but just as he repeated himself, Praze had reappeared in front of him. Despite his eyes widening, they not only did so out of surprise of what Praze did, but more so out of the weight behind it. "R-Reconstruction..." Viri trailed off, knowing all too well what it meant for Praze to use it.

"That's right..." Praze began, "... nice to finally meet you, brother."

Viri's eyes widened and he froze. _I have a brother. _When he came to that simple realisation, it was all he could do to stop himself from bursting into tears. "I... I'm sorry," he apologised. Praze stood there silently, his eyes widening through his surprise. "You're really my brother, aren't you..." Praze nodded. "I... I'm sorry I was never there for you, just leaving you, mom and dad like that. You were just an egg when I left." Praze stiffened slightly, his heart beating faster than normal.

_I don't want to have to tell you... please don't ask..._ Praze thought as he looked down.

"How are they, by the way? I... I never got the chance to say goodbye. Some son I am..." Viri trailed off weakly as he looked up into Praze's eyes, but what he saw brought coldness upon him.

_I... have to tell him._

"Viri."

"Yes?"

"They died."

For the second time, Viri froze. He stood silently, with his head down, and nothing happened for some time. But eventually his fists clenched and his knees began to wobble to the point where he collapsed onto them. Praze could do nothing but watch on as his brother broke down in front of him, and began to sob uncontrollably.

"It... it was Treeth. He convinced the entire pack to rally against them before he killed them and became the new leader of our pack," Praze then added, and Viri slowly began to calm once more. He stood to his feet and wiped the tears from his eyes, silently taking the long silver chain of his earring and ripping it from his ear, clasping it in both of his hands.

"_Denizens of decorum and prosperity, hear my will now to cast asunder that which casts divergence, and make known from that which I derive," _Viri whispered and instantaneously the cove had exploded in a brilliance of pure white light and a cacophonous hum began to surround them all. Ribbons of it began to stream from Viri's hands and Praze's eyes were wide with wonder as he realised what was happening, but all the others could do was watch in shock as the ribbons and streams of light began to converge on his no longer visible form. Then, it all stopped. However, Hakuryuu was no longer there. It was Viri. _Really_, Viri. A Night Fury once more... and he was twice the size of Praze. But the younger brother maintained his demeanour under the intense intimidation, and knew exactly why Viri had done what he did.

"You know... you really didn't need to do that. I know you want revenge... but I already killed them," Praze said, and Viri seemed to realise it and stopped the rage flowing through him. "We just need to calm down here... I think we need to have a chat."

"I... agree," Viri said, a smile reappearing on his face once more. "But... I need to go for a flight first. I haven't been in my original form for quite some time, and it seems I've forgotten what it's like to soar through the clouds," he finished as he turned his head to look at them. He turned back to Praze once more. "Fill in everyone else who's here on what just happened, please, and I'll be with you shortly."

"Alright," Praze said simply as he watched his brother take off. It didn't take long for Toothless and Ace to return to the clearing along with Hiccup, who climbed down from the top. It seemed that his metal leg wasn't a deterrent for him in any way.

"What the hell just happened?!" Toothless exclaimed as he neared Praze.

"You didn't see? Viri returned back to his original form. He wanted to go for a flight because he hasn't been a Night Fury for a long time now, so why don't we just give him some space?" Praze replied as he turned to the moon. "He said he'd rejoin us later, why don't we head somewhere else for now?"

"This is just ridiculous, honestly. Is my life ever going to be normal..." Toothless muttered as his shoulders drooped and a weary expression was shown on his face.

"I'm lost..." was all Hiccup said as he threw his arms up in defeat. "I don't understand any of this right now so I'm going to make sure I ask you all later."

"Personally I didn't find it that hard to follow," Ace said, causing Toothless and Hiccup to look at her. "What? Praze told Viri about his parents and then Viri broke down and changed to a Night Fury because he was going to fly to wherever your home was and take revenge but you said you'd already dealt with it so Viri cooled down and decided to fly. Right, Praze?" Ace turned to him.

"More or less."

"See? Praze and I are in sync," she said as she pulled him into her side.

"Sure, but don't do that, Ace," Praze murmured autonomously as he expertly slid out of her grasp.

"Whatever," she replied and all Toothless and Hiccup could do was just watch dumbly.

"You're not following any of this either, are you?" Toothless whispered to his rider.

"Nope," Hiccup replied.

* * *

After another moderate walk through the forest, Hiccup, Toothless, Ace and Praze had all arrived at Hiccup's house. Hiccup had gone through first, somewhat preparing his mother and Cloudjumper for something they'd never thought they'd see. Even so, they were still surprised when they saw Toothless clamber in through the top balcony... and was followed by Ace.

"I-I... I can't believe it... Toothless... you actually found another Night Fury..." Valka murmured as she stepped closer to Ace. "And a beautiful female at that!" She then eyed Toothless with a knowing smile on her face but before she could say anything, Ace spoke up.

"Uh, ahem, _we're already mates_," she said with a wink, and it was all Valka could do to not shout out in surprise.

"Well, well! And you are?" she questioned, and Ace smiled.

"Ace. Valka, is it?"

"Yes, and it seems you're quite well-informed," Valka replied, casting a glance over to Toothless, who merely grinned smugly. "What do you think, Cloudjumper?" she then asked, turning around to the Stormcutter. It was then that Ace began to feel the slightest amount of omnipotence in the air, and when she, too, turned to the Stormcutter, she realised it was emanating from him. _He's Cloudjumper,_ she thought to herself as her eyes narrowed. _Current Alpha... no wonder I can feel such aura in here_.

"I think... that I've been Alpha long enough," the large dragon replied before looking directly at him. "I'm returning your Alpha status now, Toothless." Toothless' eyes widened and he took a deep breath as he began to feel a familiar feeling. "Yeah, that's what I was like when you gave me it three months ago," Cloudjumper said with a light chuckle. Ace, at that point, could no longer notice the aura. She would ask Toothless about it later.

"Feels good to be back," Toothless commented, before realising something. _Where'd Hiccup go? Oh wait, he must've slipped out to go and get Astrid- hold on, Valka can understand us? _"Wait, Valka? You can understand too?"

"Well of course, Hiccup, Astrid, Hakuryuu and I are the only ones on Berq who can," she replied. "I think we can all agree that we should keep that number, too. Any more and it would be hectic."

"That's true," Toothless replied before he noticed something. "Where's Praze?" he asked aloud, confusing Valka and causing Ace to look around for a moment.

"Praze? Is there another one of you?!" Valka questioned excitedly. "I'm already keen on getting to know Ace, being the first female Night Fury I've ever met, but who's this 'Praze'?"

"Praze? He was the first I met after I left Berq. He's a fourteen year-old Night Fury. Though... I think he might have turned fifteen recently and he just didn't want Ace or I to make a big deal out of it," Toothless commented, causing Ace to look at him with surprise.

"I knew I felt it! I knew it wasn't you, but I could detect traces of it," she said and Toothless nodded his head. "He covered it up pretty well."

"I'm sorry, but what's this?" Valka asked, obviously puzzled. Toothless looked to Cloudjumper, who just shrugged and laughed weakly.

"You didn't tell her? It wasn't mentioned even once at some point?" Toothless asked and Cloudjumper shook his head before turning to Valka.

"Valka, annually every living creatures ages, right?" the Stormcutter asked her, and she nodded. "Well, dragons basically emit this... _aura_... when they age. Other dragons can detect this through a gut feeling they get, and this is what Toothless is talking about." Toothless nodded promptly before realising another thing.

"I haven't introduced you two yet, but Cloudjumper this is Ace, Ace this is Cloudjumper. Now, I'll be back in a second," Toothless said before he climbed up to the balcony and climbed out and found Praze leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. "Praze, what's up?" he called, and Praze's eyes opened.

"I can't go in there," he muttered with a sigh. _Too many people, too little space. _"I think you understand, right?"

"But it's only Valka, Cloudjumper, Hiccup, Astrid and Viri who'll be in there," Toothless reasoned. Praze sighed before looking at the night sky.

"It's not who the people are, Toothless. There are just too many people in that small and confined space for me to be in there comfortably," the young Night Fury replied and Toothless' eyes widened.

_Wait... does he have claustrophobia? _he asked himself. _Maybe that's why he can't stand being around other people; because it ties in to that! I don't have time to talk to him about it now though, I need to focus on everything else that's going on._ "Praze, we're going to need you in there for a lot of crucial information you're going to need-"

"-Tell me later," Praze cut in as he got up from the tree and unfurled his wings. "I'm going to explore for a bit to clear my head."

"Wait, one more thing quickly," Toothless interjected before Praze could take off. The younger Fury eyed him to say '_go ahead'_. "Was it your birthday the other day?"

Praze sighed before silently nodding his head. "Yeah. Now I'm going, catcha later."

And just like that, he was gone. Toothless chuckled to himself as he began to climb back inside. _Praze, honestly. _He then entered the house again to find Ace laughing with Cloudjumper before they turned and looked at him with humour in their eyes. _Oh great._

"Toothless, Cloudjumper was just telling me how adorable you were when you first met him," Ace chuckled and Toothless eyed the Stormcutter next to her.

"And just what did he say?" Toothless asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"He said that you hid under his wings because you were afraid of all the dragons in the nest!" she exclaimed and she couldn't hold in her laughter any more and burst out into a fit, almost falling onto the floor. Toothless' face heated before he looked at Cloudjumper, almost ready to kill him.

"I was _not_ afraid! I just didn't really want to have to deal with so many ogling me, so I hid from view!" Toothless retorted, before he heard Valka beside him. He turned his head to look at her as Cloudjumper and Ace continued to laugh and he rolled his eyes in exasperation, not willing to pursue it any further.

"And Praze? What about him?" she asked, obviously enthusiastic. When Toothless shook his head, her face drooped and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. She sighed as she sat down. "Young Night Furies are one of the rarest things in the world, and I can't even see this one!"

"Wait, young Night Furies are rare? Why?" Toothless asked.

"Because they just are," she replied as she shrugged her shoulders. "Of all my years I have never seen one younger than you." She then smirked slightly as she looked at both him and Ace. "You know, maybe they won't be so rare around here any more."

Toothless' face heated madly but before he could say anything, Ace spoke up. "Actually, female Night Furies can't reproduce until they're fully matured," she replied casually before looking at the ground. "One of the few things my mother told me before... never mind. Anyway, that's just how it is and it makes sense."

"I see, and how old are you?" Valka asked.

"I'm twenty-one, making _me_ now the youngest Night Fury you've ever seen, because Toothless is twenty-two," Ace replied.

"Right, and how old is a Night Fury before they are considered fully-matured?"

"About twenty-four to twenty-five years old."

Before long, Toothless turned to Hiccup beside him, who had reappeared several moments ago yet only Toothless had noticed his presence. He always seemed to be the only one to notice when Hiccup snuck around places. "Did you know any of this?" Hiccup whispered to him.

"Nope. I think it's best if we just let them talk," Toothless replied similarly and Hiccup shrugged. "Anyway, where's Astrid?"

"I had to wake her up. She said she'd be here in a few minutes."

"Right."

"So, Hiccup," Valka spoke up again, seemingly having ended her conversation with Ace. Hiccup turned to his mother and smiled to let her know to continue. "Did you just come here to show off Toothless' mate, or is there another reason? I'm sure that you would normally have just waited until tomorrow to do so, leaving me to believe that you've something else on your mind."

"Actually, yes," Hiccup replied shortly. "We have actually another Night Fury, beside Toothless, Ace and Praze. And this is quite surprising."

"Go on..." Valka trailed on, becoming more intrigued by what her son was saying.

"Well, Hakuryuu is the other Night Fury."

Needless to say, Valka was speechless. "_What?!_" she exclaimed, feeling ever so much more obscured of the situation. "But he's human...?" She trailed off at the slow shake of HIccup's head.

"Listen, I only just had to take this in a few short moments ago where I actually witnessed it myself. Night Furies can somehow transform into humans," Hiccup said as he shrugged. "And his name isn't actually Hakuryuu; it's Viri. He's a good person... or Night Fury... I think he lied to us – well, deceived us – for a good reason. We're here to hear him out for his reasoning, and also to fill Toothless in on our... _situation_." Both he and Valka then nodded silently as Valka realised that Toothless hand't been told yet. "But we're waiting for Astrid and Viri, so we won't start until we get all the formalities dealt with."

"Well, this is all so sudden, but I'm sure we can work this out. I'm going to go and boil some hot water if anyone wants a cup of tea. We've recently gotten some exquisite coffee and tea from the foreign traders the other day, too. We've been getting an influx of foreign traders recently and I think they're finally coming to accept the presence of dragons on Berq, which is great," Valka said and Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Finally! We've been waiting for this for _ages_! Anyway, you go on and make them whilst I go and see if Astrid's actually gotten out of her bed yet," Hiccup replied before quickly dashing out. Valka just shook her head in amusement and walked over to the fireplace with a medium-sized metal pot filled with water and Cloudjumper followed her over there, leaving just Ace and Toothless to their thoughts, before the former turned to the latter with a question on her lips.

"So what's the deal with Praze?"

Toothless sighed, before answering, "I think Praze is claustrophobic, but I think it's really deep on a mental level. He's very introverted... and that coupled with his claustrophobia is, in his case, detrimental. Maybe not to him personally, but he sort of can't stand being around other people, like he feels his freedom is taken away when he's surrounded by too many at once. I believe that's something he's really afraid of." Ace nodded her head thoughtfully, agreeing with what Toothless was saying.

"I think you might be right," she replied. "And that's why he's not here?" she asked aloud, more so for her own benefit.

"Yep. He's gone out for a flight so he just wants us to fill him in later. Also, it _was_ his birthday a little while ago," Toothless added and Ace 's eyes widened. Then she sighed lightly.

"Honestly, what's with him?" she muttered as she shook her head, despite the slight grin on her face.

"I think he doesn't like making a big deal out of '_nothing_'," he replied.

"It's not nothing!" Ace retorted with a huff.

"You're right about that, _Praze_ sees it as nothing is what I mean."

"Oh, yeah. Praze doesn't seem to make a big deal out of anything, really. I think he dislikes conflict," Ace muttered.

"I think he dislikes _meaningless_ conflict. If he had to fight for something he believed in, I can say without doubt that he would be nonpareil. No one would be able to do anything against his intelligence, insight and intuition," Toothless said and Ace nodded.

"He stopped me from blowing your head off," she said with a chuckle. "And now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Praze breathe fire or shoot a plasma blast before, isn't that odd?"

"Actually, yeah," Toothless murmured. "I've not seen him emit any form of fire once. I wonder why?"

"Who knows," she replied softly. "Why don't we-"

"OH MY GODS!" a loud voice penetrated the room and all eyes focused on the door that had been swung open, almost violently, as Toothless chuckled.

"And that would be Astrid," he said with slight humour as Ace's eyes widened.

"THERE'S ACTUALLY ANOTHER ONE!" Astrid's loud voice continued as she quickly strode towards the now-startled female Night Fury.

"Uh, heh, hi there. Nice to meet you," Ace replied as she chuckled lightly. "My name is Ace."

"Nice to meet you too, Ace," Astrid replied as she smiled gleefully. "I'm Astrid."

"Good to see you again, Astrid," a voice came from the side. The female viking turned and immediately her face was nearly split in two by the large smile that formed when she saw him.

"Toothless!" she exclaimed as she ran up to him and clasped her arms around his neck, smiling and laughing and she did so. "It's so good to see you! You've no idea what's been going on," she finished as she let go and took a few steps back, glancing between the two Night Furies before her. "Anyway, this is great! So you weren't the last of your kind after all!"

"Actually, no. There are plenty more of us, too. But I'll leave that for later, because anyway," Toothless began, before side-stepping closer to Ace and smiling, "Ace is my mate."

Astrid's mouth formed an O before she smiled again and laughed once more. "That's wonderful Toothless! I"m so happy for both of you," she said as she laughed again before turning to Hiccup, her smile fading. "Anyway, when are we going to start this?"

"Soon, we just need to wait for Hakuryuu-"

But Hiccup never finished his sentence. He was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and, like before, all eyes turned to see the form of Viri, rather _Hakuryuu_, enter with something in his arms.

"Viri? You're human again?" Hiccup asked as the Night-Fury-turned-human waltzed right in and laid someone, dressed in attire akin to his own, down on Hiccup's bed.

"Viri? Human again? What's all this nonsense? Who's Viri? What's it got to do with Hakuryuu?" Astrid shot out, becoming somewhat annoyed at her ignorance. Hiccup turned to her with a somewhat apologetic look on his face as Viri went to join the circle that had formed of Astrid, Hiccup, Valka, Cloudjumper, Toothless and Ace.

"All will be explained," was all the _foreigner _could say.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you," Hiccup began, "but Hakuryuu's real name is Viri and he's a Night Fury. I can't be bothered explaining the specifics – which I don't even know – so just be satisfied with the simplified answer that Night Furies can turn into humans and Hakuryuu was one all along, hence the ability to give us – _humans_ – the ability to interact and understand dragonese." Astrid somehow found herself nodding dumbly, but accepted his reasoning nonetheless.

"Ok but I _definitely_ deserve and expect a detailed explanation later," she muttered somewhat absent mindedly, showing her current engagement with figuring out all that was going on.

"I'm sorry about that Astrid, and I will be sure to fill you in on everything once we've discussed things," Viri replied as he turned to Toothless and Ace. "What I'm really interested in is this one here," he said, pointing at Toothless.

"Why me?" Toothless asked, somewhat sceptical.

"You do not remember anything past a certain point when you were in the nest, correct?" Viri asked.

"Correct, but I don't see where you're going with this-"

"Don't you want those memories back? Don't you want to remember who I am, my good friend?" Viri asked and Toothless' eyes widened.

_The visions... were memories,_ Toothless thought. _I knew I had heard the name Viri before!_

"How? How can you give me memories that were lost over ten years ago?" Toothless asked.

"Because I can remove the brainwashing the same way I gave Astrid, Hiccup and Valka their ability to understand dragonese. All dragonese is, is a sixth sense. It's like telepathy, but instead of just broadcasting thoughts you broadcast images, too. Which is how you see other dragons' mouths moving when they talk. It's very complex, so I won't spend to much time on it, just know that the brainwashing is a simple psychic trick that averts your mind from ever travelling to certain memories, giving the false impression of memory loss," Viri explained and Toothless slowly nodded as he understood. He had no need to be sceptical, but he was still slightly clueless as after all, it was quite a bit to take in.

"So, how do you intend to lift this so-called _brainwashing_, hm?" Toothless asked and Viri grinned slightly.

"A simple mental assault of words that link to things from before your brainwashing, resulting in a somewhat painful installation of your former memories," he explained simply and Astrid and Hiccup turned to look at him.

"Like what you did to Stormfly?" Astrid asked and Viri nodded his head.

"Yeah."

Toothless stood silent for a moment before he looked to Viri and whispered two words. "Do it."

Viri grinned as he turned to face Toothless and took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The, he opened them with a start and began. "Thea! Thoust! Geran! Lohrer! Peruvia! The Necessarium Decree! Conflagration!" he yelled and suddenly Toothless' head began to pound and he dropped to the floor, his paws to his head.

"Toothless!" Ace exclaimed but remained where she was.

Hiccup turned to Viri and asked, "did that do it?" Viri shook his head and held up one finger.

"One more," he said. He then walked over to Toothless and whispered into his ear so no one else could hear, "I'm sorry that I have to break my promise, Silva... but..._"_ he then finished the sentence with a single word and Toothless' eyes turned to slits. Roaring in pain, he collapsed onto the floor once more and began to tremor slightly at the pain, then, they began to flood back. Slowly at first, but in a few short moments a cascade of memories began to fill his mind and then suddenly... nothing. Toothless stopped moving and got to his feet, breathing deeply as he did, before he turned to look at Viri.

"You broke your promise, Viri," Toothless murmured as he sat, turning to the figure on Hiccup's bed.

"I know, but I'm sure you understand why, and I will mention it no further," Viri replied as Toothless eyed him before turning back to the figure.

"Where's his scale?" he asked.

"Around his neck, silver chain, green emerald pearl. The usual aesthetics."

"Interesting..."

A moment passed before someone decided to speak up.

"Um, are we missing something here?" Hiccup asked, being the first to gather himself. Toothless turned to him and, after what seemed to be an eternity, grinned widely.

"Yes... I've finally regained my memories. I... _am_ Toothless, but I was originally known as _Silva_," Toothless explained. "Thea is Stormfly's real name, Thoust is Hookfang's, just as Geran, Lohrer and Peruvia is Barf, Belch and Meatlug respectively. My goodness, you humans do come up with some pretty horrendous nicknames," he added with the slightest of cheeky grins, leaving Hiccup and Astrid to chuckle at that. "I also now know why you called this meeting. We're at war."

Suddenly the laughs and the good mood stopped. What remained was exactly what they had started with, the only permuted variable being Toothless' regained memories. The fact still remained... they were in danger.

"No time for chit-chat, I agree," Valka spoke up, her experience allowing her quick adaption to the situation. "Toothless may have regained his memories, but we still have pressing matters to deal with."

"That's right," Viri spoke up. "The enemy... is the Necessarium Decree. The religious group that seeks to commit a genocide... wiping all dragons from the face of the earth. Though they are based on the mainland, the dealings of Berq have been brought to the unwanted attention of the Decree. First a nest of dragons inhabiting the island, and only recently another nest under the command of an Alpha, Berq has become an eligible target. Hiccup, Astrid, Valka and Cloudjumper all know this, as does Stormfly, I'm just saying this for the sakes of those-"

_Smack._

All eyes turned to see that the figure had apparently tried to get up, only to have fallen face-first into the ground. Seconds later, Viri and Toothless had burst out laughing, leaving everyone else to wallow in their confusion. After a few more seconds, the figure began to move their arm, almost futilely, to grab onto the bed cover whilst simultaneously using up all their strength to pull themselves to a position where they were leaning the bed. Then, Ace's eyes widened we the figure looked up and she caught a glance of those ice-blue purple eyes. She whisked her head around to Toothless, her mouth in some sort of an agape smile, and she whispered, "_is that really..._"

"Yes," Toothless replied. "He doesn't know how to use human legs yet."

"You should be very tired after orienting for the first time, Praze. Your body is literally still building itself. You don't even have the strength to _learn_ how to walk yet. Just lay back down," Viri said as he walked back over to the bed, gently picking Praze up in his arms and laying him back down.

"This... is so weird..." Praze muttered flatly, shakily raising one arm for him to look at his hand. He moved each finger individually, before his arm collapsed again and eventually his consciousness followed suit.

"Well, he should be out until tomorrow, we'll fill him in then," Viri chuckled as he walked back over to the others.

"That's Praze... right?" Hiccup asked tentatively and Viri nodded. "But... does that mean Toothless can change into a human too?!"

"All Night Furies can orient; the traditional name for changing from Night Fury to human and vice versa. It's to do with-"

"You were supposed to tell me how to do it the night I was brainwashed – _the night you escaped!_" Toothless exclaimed with a huff. "Some friend you are! Just leaving me like that!"

"I had no choice, Silva. Since I was human at the time, the fake alpha signal that the Red Death hijacked had no effect on me. This was the first time I ever oriented, so I couldn't move even if I had wanted to. I realised this too late when I noticed all the dragons gathering and by the time I could move again... you were already gone. Your mind... your memories... blocked. Sealed. I had lost my friend for what would seem forever at the time, and all I could do was run away with grief and regret, so for that I am truly sorry," Viri apologised and Toothless sighed.

"It's ok, don't worry about it. You can fill me in on everything later. For now... you need to continue. I would very much so like to know what is going on at _this_ point in time," Toothless reminded him.

"Right, right. Now continuing on, sorry about all the ridiculous interruptions, but hopefully I can finish this time," Viri began, and when no one complained, he continued. "Anyway, so. Berq has been under construction of being fitted defensively for war against the Decree when they come. There's no '_ifs_', they _will_ come at some point and when they do, we will be ready for them and we will put up a fight. Basically... that's it. Apart from training the citizens to fight, as well as the dragons, that is all I have to say about it for now. I am really tired. I'm sure everyone else is as well as it is _way_ past midnight. Are there any objections to refraining from asking any more questions about _anything_ tonight? I am stuffed, Praze is stuffed, you can practically carry things in the bags under your eyes, why don't we call it a night?"

Everyone sat in silence for a moment.

"Sounds good to me," Ace spoke up as she stretched her neck and turned to go.

"Agreed, good night everyone. Hiccup, take care of Praze for me please," Toothless said as he followed his mate up the stairs and out the balcony. Viri then smiled before abruptly turning and exiting, leaving just Valka, Astrid, Hiccup, Cloudjumper and an unconscious Praze.

"Well then..." Hiccup trailed off. "Good night." He turned to his occupied bed and sighed. "I guess I'll sleep on the spare bed..."

"Alright, I'm going to get going too. Good night, Hiccup," Astrid said quickly with a smile as she walked over to him and kiss him lightly on the cheek before taking her leave. Hiccup then walked upstairs with a word of good night to his mother before he got into the spare bed, not even bothering to take off his armour, and was instantly out like a light.

A sharp whistling sound soon started to be heard and Valka sighed to herself. "Just as the water finishes boiling, everyone up and leaves..."

* * *

"So, Toothless... what really happened in there?" Ace asked as they landed in the cove. Toothless turned to her as she continued. "Are you still the same Toothless?"

"Of course," he replied without skipping a beat as they both sat down by the water's edge. "I am still exactly as I always am, I just found out a few more things about myself today. Like how Viri is actually my long lost friend, like how I knew of Praze's existence over ten years ago because Viri told me about his egg, like how my name is Silva and I am a_ Silva_, as you call it, being hatched in a forest principle. Like how I know that just as Praze has the ability to "_reconstruct_", you have the ability to regenerate at the cost of your own degeneration and I have the ability to generate fire at a much more intensive level than usual. The things Praze was talking about, the abilities Night Furies have that are gifts from the stars, we all have them. Praze's and Viri's is called _reconstruction_, yours is called _degenerate regeneration_, and mine is called _conflagration_. What I talked about when I defeated Drago's Alpha Bewilderbeast? The power I had? That was my ability. _Conflagration_. I know it's a lot to take it, but for me... it's just... _there_. Taken in already. Isn't it odd?" he asked, abruptly turning to Ace and startling her.

"Well... I don't know. It's quite a bit to take in, you're right, but I'm sure we'll be fine. All this talk of war? I'm sure we'll be fine because after all, we have each other. We'll find a way," she said with a smile as she leaned against him and stared at the water of the pond. "Also... what did Viri say in that final part? To make you remember; to lift the brainwashing?" she asked, but suddenly Toothless froze. She noticed and was quick to apologise. "I'm sorry, I was just curious I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's alright. I'll tell you," he replied with a smile. "I made Viri promise not to speak of it again but, now that I think of it, it actually doesn't really even matter." He then stopped for a moment to look up, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as he did so, before finally speaking again. "Hannah."

"What?" Ace asked, clearly confused.

"A name; Hannah. You see, before I was captured by the Red Death, I was someone. But... I don't remember. I think I had an accident prior to being captured, causing me to lose memory of most of my life before, besides my name. But one thing kept on resurfacing; Hannah. The one name... I have no idea who she is," Toothless finished.

"Was she a Night Fury?" she asked.

"Yes, that much I'm certain of."

"A mate or love interest?" she jested but Toothless didn't chuckle or laugh; he was in too deep a thought.

"No... she... she..." Suddenly his eyes widened and he turned to Ace once more. "I think she was my sister."

* * *

**A/N**

**Another update for my pretties. Sorry it took so long; _very_ busy life at the moment. Quite hectic. A review would most certainly be appreciated :)**

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	24. Part One - End: The Serene Stratagem (23

**Part One - #23 The Serene Stratagem**

* * *

The morning was cold and brisk and deterred most from sleeping in. Thus the two black forms waking and yawning in the cove, trying to get the rest of the unconsciousness out of their bodies.

"Good... morning," Toothless began between yawns.

"Good morning," Ace replied, a smile on her face as she stretched. She looked up and squinted against the morning sun's bright rays before remembering something. "Hey Toothless... I just realised. We never really talked about Praze..."

"Praze?" he asked as he stretched and turned to her. "What about him?"

"Well... he turned into a human, remember?"

Toothless nodded. "Yeah and it's not that surprising. Viri told me how to do it years ago, all you need is yourself. Specifically, one of your own scales and the knowledge to be able to know what to do with it. _That's_ the part I don't have. Anyway, you know how Praze didn't want to come into the room because he was uncomfortable, but ended up in there anyway?" he asked and she nodded. "If you think about it logically, turning into a human practically made him half – if not a third – of his original size."

"And...?" Ace questioned, still not getting it.

"And... that makes the space bigger to Praze because he's smaller. On top of just physically smaller, he's able to be less noticed as a human," he continued before realising something. Then his eyes narrowed. "Dang... now he's going to get proficient in a human body and he'll sneak around like a freakin' shadow! I'll never be able to catch him!" he exclaimed with a huff. "And I want to be human too! Also, it looks like we still have our abilities in human form, as Viri demonstrated last night when he reconstructed from up there," he started, pointed to the ridge where Hiccup and Viri had arrived before moving his paw to point at the centre of the cove, "to down here."

"Right, right," Ace replied. "Also, what's the deal with my ability? What's this _degenerate regeneration_ stuff?" she asked and Toothless smiled.

"Basically, you remember when I was completely battered by Saevus and I was pretty much unconscious?" he asked her and she involuntarily shivered at the name, but nodded. "Well, then all my cuts and injuries got better, and you felt really tired afterwards?" She nodded again. "Well, that was your ability. You healed me and then basically lost all of your stamina. That's what your ability is; you convert your own strength and energy into this aura the manifests itself as advanced regeneration." When he had finished, Ace looked surprised.

"Well, that's mighty interesting. And I assume Viri was the one who told you all about Night Fury abilities?" she asked.

"Yep. There's so much I can tell you now that I have my memories back. Though, they are only three years of memories, during which I arrived on the shores of the dragon nest with a terrible head wound and no memory of how I got there. Viri found me, we became friends and he began to share everything both he and his father had found out about the Decree, as well as Night Furies in general. There are also many different types of abilities, but now that I think of it, Praze was never supposed to be able to use _reconstruction_..." he trailed off and Ace became confused.

"What do you mean? Why not? Isn't it his family's ability?" she questioned and he nodded.

"Yes it is, but when there are multiple offspring only every odd offspring is able to use it. But the fact that Praze is able to use it... it means that Praze has a second ability, of which's very existence debunks that rule."

"That's... odd. Why do you think he has another ability?" she asked.

"Some are able to receive multiple abilities because the stars see how their lives will play out and give them an extra ability according to that. And going by how Praze is living, it may well be the second-most-powerful ability I've ever heard of. And I'm sure he's used it already..." he trailed off with a sigh.

"What is it? And how do you know what abilities are the most powerful and stuff? Do you have a list or something?" she asked and chuckled lightly.

"Not a list, but there are so few abilities that I can remember them all. This is what Viri found out by travelling, so you know," he added, before sighing and continuing. "Anyway... I think Praze might have an ability... known as _perception evasion_."

"_Perception evasion?_" she asked and he nodded.

"Also known as reality shifting, _perception evasion_ is basically like a filter. It's like an aura that surrounds the user and literally erases them from existence – their _physical_ existence. Basically, if he were to use it and I look at him, I would not be able to perceive his existence. If I touched him, I wouldn't feel it. I wouldn't register the fact that I was. That's how it works."

"And how does that _not_ make it the most powerful ability? Why is it only second?" she asked and he turned to her.

"Because," he began. "The most powerful ability sees through it. _Peripheralisation_. Only one Night Fury can have it at any given point in time, same as _perception evasion_. Purely an eye ability, but the uses are immense. Their eyes become like telescopes, they can see through hallucinations, they can see in the dark, they can even detect the use of other abilities as well as interfere and interact with them."

"That's ridiculous! And this is all insane... I need time to process this... but for now, why don't we get some breakfast and go catch up with the others?" she asked and he nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a good idea! I need to ask Viri some things, too. And Praze. Shall we?" he asked as he spread his wings and gestured to the sky.

"Let's go."

* * *

Viri awoke to the sound of something outside the small house he had been allocated when he got to Berq. He thought it was odd, so he got out of bed and promptly put his clothes on. He walked to the door and unlatched the lock, walking outside with a slight shiver as he did, before he turned the corner of the house and just stood there with a flat expression on his face at what he saw.

"What are you doing?" he asked flatly, mentally face-palming at the figure on the ground in front of him.

"Looking at the clouds," Praze replied. Viri looked around for a moment and sighed.

"How did you get here?"

"I walked."

"... And how long have you been awake and practicing how to use your human body?"

"A few hours now."

Viri sighed again before a smile crept onto his face. "Do you want to come inside and have a chat?" he asked and Praze looked at him.

"I'd be glad to," he replied with a similar smile as he quickly rolled onto the top part of his back, placed his hands onto the ground and gently pushed upwards to land on his feet and completed the roll. "I like the mobility of this body."

"You did that quite seamlessly, I see you've inherited some of dad's skills," Viri commented, leaving Praze to smirk slightly.

"I surpassed his skills, according to him," he chuckled as he stood next to his brother and there was a moment of silence as they looked at each other and just took in the other's existence. After a few more moments, Viri slowly walked forward and put his arms around Praze, making the latter's eyes widen as he, in turn, reciprocated the gesture.

"I'm glad we found each other," Viri whispered. Praze couldn't say anything, so he just nodded slowly. But it didn't last long before Viri spun Praze around, put one hand on his shoulder and then swung his leg underneath Praze's and the younger brother suddenly found himself staring at the clouds once more. "_That's_ for waking me up," Viri said triumphantly as he dusted off his hands with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever," Praze said as he rolled his eyes.

"Now, let's go inside," Viri said as he helped Praze up. "Want a coffee?"

"What's that?" Praze asked as he dusted himself off and followed Viri inside.

"I've found it to be a very delectable hot drink, slightly bitter but with an alluring smell and taste," he replied as he shut the door behind them. Just seconds after doing so, the sound of rain could be heard against the roof. Both Praze and Viri looked up at the sound before they looked at each other. "I guess we'll be in here for a while," he began as he walked over to the kitchen bench and clicked his fingers, emitting a spark and igniting a small fire before placing a metal pot over it. "Plenty of time to chat."

* * *

The sky was completely grey. Not a single part of blue sky could be seen as they clouds began to release their contents upon the lands, drenching everything in its cold and wet vibrance. Toothless sighed under the cover of a cave he'd found before breathing in, ultimately giving in to the events. "I hope this doesn't last too long," he thought aloud as Ace turned to him. He couldn't believe they'd been grounded just after they left the cove, _when it was shining_. The clouds had rolled in almost instantaneously.

"Looks like it will take quite a while, judging by how many clouds I can see and how heavily it's pouring..." Ace trailed off, turning around to the inner part of the cave. "So, let's explore this cave!" she finished and Toothless turned to her.

"You know it's not going to be that intricate, it's just a simple mountain cave," Toothless reminded her as he followed her subserviently. "Also, why did you pull us down here in the first place. I'm fairly capable of flying in the rain and I'm sure you are too. We've done it plenty before, too." She turned back to him with a small smile and giggled coyly, as if she were up to something. And she was.

"Oh, I know," she replied as he walked up to her. "But I don't really want to get all deep in all this talk of war and stuff just yet. As for exploring the cave, I just don't want to sit around doing nothing, getting bored out of my mind. Walking deeper into the cave, where no one can see us, and at least looking for _some way_ to have some kind of fun, is better than nothing." One look at the both serious and unseemly suggestive expression on her face when she said that was all Toothless needed to understand what she was implying.

"O-Oh..." he trailed off, his face surely heated enough to keep the both of them warm through the rain.

* * *

Meanwhile, smoke began to rise, despite the weather, from a small hut out by a cliff a half hour's walk from the village. Inside, the conversation was lucid and lively.

"So, as Night Furies, we have stars that watch over us?" Praze asked.

"Yes. They are what allow us to turn into humans," Viri replied. "You can't physically meet them, they're just... there. I don't want to try to explain it as even _I_ don't know all the details."

"So, are they able to... speak with us? Can they communicate with us?" Praze asked.

"Not through ways you'd expect," Viri replied as he ground the coffee beans over in the kitchen. "Well... I quickly completed my training with Shiro, our father, and I had begun to delve into his more... _philosophical_... teachings. With it came the knowledge of the unknown..."

"I see. Unfortunately... I had only begun to learn about all that just before... " Praze stopped himself. "Well. Anyway, I'd no idea the depth of all he had told me. About our abilities, being able to turn into human, the Necessarium Decree. They were all myths, legends. The things of the night."

"Mhmm. That's why you wouldn't know all that much... Shiro never did find out a lot about them. He never... learned from them as I did. As I began to divulge more into it, the more I searched for it, I found more and more. Then... that was when I became aware of their presence. At first... it was just fragments in my mind. Though eventually... the full meaning of things just seemed to realise within my mind and I knew... I knew I had to leave," Viri said as he turned around with two mugs of steaming brown liquid. He walked over to the table and placed one mug in front of himself and one in front of Praze. "The Decree were going to kill off every single dragon on the planet and I needed to learn how to combat them... and just what exactly we were combatting. After I left I began to travel, and it seems almost like yesterday that I met him..."

"Met who?" Praze asked.

"Silva. Toothless. Whatever you want to go by, he was the one that changed my view. I wound up on that island, the false _Alpha's_ domain, and quickly could see what was happening. It was no less a totalitarian system and it was completely wrong. I sought to change it but... something stopped me. A gut feeling I had told me that I needed to leave it as it was, so I did. Soon after... Silva showed up. He washed ashore with a terrible head injury, going on and on about random things with his memories amnesiac and fragmented. When I committed myself to helping him recover... that was the moment I made my first close friend." After walking to the kitchen and back to the table, Viri brought with him a small black ceramic jar with a wooden spoon. He sat down with a smile as he opened the jar and instantly Praze could smell a sweetness he could only describe as splendidly illustrious.

"What is that?" he asked as he subconsciously also took a whiff of the similarly-coloured ceramic mug in between his hands and instantly found himself drawn to it.

"It's called honey. Some might find the taste of coffee to be too bitter and prefer to have it with some form of sweetener. The most common form of sweetener is derived from a perennial grass known as _sugarcane, _which is then refined into tiny brown sand called _sugar_. I personally prefer honey, but why don't you try the coffee first? See if you want some honey in it?" Viri asked as he placed a spoonful of the golden nectar into his mug before offering it across the table. Praze then looked into the depths of his own mug before bringing it up to his lips, presuming it the only way to drink from such an instrument. A few seconds later his eyes widened and his lips curved into a smile. "It's good, isn't it?" Viri asked and Praze nodded his head in agreement. Viri continued to hold out his hand and urged his brother to try some.

"I believe you now," Praze chuckled as he reached out his hand and took the ceramic jar, bringing it up to his nose to smell it again. He breathed deeply before pouring a small amount of it into his mug. _It is quite bitter, I'm sure a small amount would bring an adequate amount of sweetness without tainting that beautiful flavour too much_, he thought. "This enough?" he asked and Viri nodded. "Alright then," Praze murmured as he put the jar down and brought the mug to his lips for a second time. _Woah_. "My, it's even tastier!" he exclaimed before placing the mug down again and regaining his composure. _Don't get distracting by minor intricacies._ Praze rolled his eyes mentally. _Why must I always be distracted by minor intricacies. _Then he realised_. Because minor intricacies are the best. _"Well, shall we continue?" he asked. Viri smiled somewhat ruefully before nodding. "So, you say that Toothless lost his memories. How? Why?"

"Well, I don't know the whole story, but I do know that he was involved in some kind of accident. He doesn't remember much, which was hard for me to deal with a first, but eventually came the day where the false _Alpha _began to brainwash all of those inside the nest. Most were there for protection, for food, but she... _it_... took that from us..." Viri said with a deep sigh, before continuing. "It was the night that I turned human for the first time and, as such, was immobilised and unable to do anything but watch as Silva had his memories blocked off for the _second_ time in his life. It was agonising... and then I left. I'm... sorry," Viri then apologised, finding himself out of breath. "I can't do this, I'm sorry, I can't do this Praze. Give me some time... I've only just been able to get my friend back yesterday. Why... why don't we talk about what's going on now? I'll fill you in on the Decree, their movements, and why they've targeted Berq."

A few expressions should have shown on Praze's face during Viri's last amount of speech. But there was only one. A strict neutrality that remained as he leaned forward and whispered, "It's ok. You don't have to... take your time, I understand. Now... tell me what's going on."

Viri looked into those almost swirling ice-blue and purple eyes, and finally felt a reassurance that he had never been able to feel in his entire life. The realisation of that caused his eyes to water as a broad grin spread across his face as he whispered, "Will do."

* * *

"I see..." Praze trailed off with a thoughtful expression on his face at Viri's explanation of the situation. _I will not allow the Decree to take away this place. _"What are the current plans?"

"Well, we train. We fortify Berq both physically and mentally. I hope to get you all accustomed to your human bodies as I'm planning for us to go undercover at some point to infiltrate their main nerve centre; their central point of command. I haven't managed to pinpoint its location as of yet, but I hope to do so soon," Viri replied.

"And what about our human bodies? Are we still able to produce fire in human form?" Praze asked.

"Short answer; yes," Viri replied before he took another sip of his coffee and Praze followed suit with a sigh of satisfaction.

_This is good_, he thought.

"We have pores around the palms of our hands," Viri continued, holding up one hand and tracing around the palm with his finger. "They are invisible to the eye and the skin around those areas are comprised of a material similar to that of our scales, thus resulting in fireproof skin. Also, I've developed a technique that enables me to reconstruct the fire I produce so that it appears where I want it to, making for some very useful perks along the lines of stealth and efficiency. Like you saw before, when I clicked my fingers and lit that stovetop without needing to be up against it. I just imagined the flame in my hand moving there and it reconstructed to there."

"Interesting..." Praze muttered as he looked to the palms of his hand. Then he became confused. "What's a stovetop?" he asked and Viri mentally facepalmed.

_Of course, he wouldn't know a thing of human ingenuity, _Viri thought. _This will take some time getting used to. _"Well, I guess you'll learn all of these human contraptions in due time. Humans cook food on stovetops by lighting wood with fire and putting metal pots with food inside them."

"Cook?"

_A lot of time,_ Viri corrected himself. "Nevermind that, would you like to learn how to use fire in your human form? And to use it with reconstruction? I could teach you."

"I'll pass," Praze replied with a sigh. _I can't break it now..._

"Alright then. Now, I want to know how old you are. There were some rumours that you recently had a birthday..." Viri trailed off, looking at his brother with suspicion in his eyes. Praze sighed.

_Damn it..._ "Yeah... two days ago. I'm fifteen now," Praze replied.

"Again, Praze... I'm so sorry-"

"Don't apologise. I've already forgiven you. It's turned out alright, hasn't it?"

"I know... but... our mother and father? Lilith and Shiro? What about them?" Viri continued, still somewhat distraught.

"Their blood is on me. In hindsight... I could have prevented it had I have been more perceptive of the signs..." Praze trailed off as he took another sip, only to realise his coffee had already been finished and he frowned inwardly.

"It's on me also, Praze. Don't forget that had I not have left, then _I_ would have been able to do something too. We share the guilt... but we shouldn't be dragged down by the past. Rather, we should embrace the future..." Viri trailed off, for once truly believing in his own words.

"I agree. Let's stop talking about this... so what's that?" Praze asked as he pointed at the long black piece of wood along Viri's side.

"Oh, this?" Viri asked as he took it out of his belt and grabbed the end, unsheathed the sword with a rasp and placed the wooden scabbard onto the table, leaving only the gleaming metal to remain in the dim grey light. "This is what the humans call a _sword_. Made from metal and used as a weapon to cut flesh, I had this one made for me by a brilliant blacksmith – a human that works metal into various things – on an island known as Merirosvo. It's my primary means of self-defence because... well... we need to learn how to adapt to fight as humans so that, if necessary, we can hide."

"Interesting..." Praze trailed off as he thought about all the possibilities that were so readily achievable. _So much to work with..._ he thought before something came to him. "Do you think you'd be able to tell me about human biology? You see... if I am to learn to fight in this body, I would at least like to work with my preferred form of fighting."

"Which is?" Viri asked.

"Pressure points."

"Ah, right, right. Fortunately, I personally enjoyed learning it myself when dad taught me, so, I ended up seeking out a human healer with significant knowledge of human biology so that they could teach me," Viri replied with a smile. "So, sure I'll teach you."

"Nice," Praze said with a slight smile. "Another thing I wanted to ask about was the principles. Are there natural abilities as well as Night Fury abilities? Like, abilities native to the principle we're hatched in?"

"Now that," Viri began as he leaned back in his chair with a sigh, "is a brilliant question. Again, short answer; yes."

"Right... so is this short answer _also _going to turn into a long answer like the last one? Because by all means, _do_," Praze murmured with a slight humour in his voice.

"Ah, right. You want to know more about it," Viri said and Praze nodded.

"I want to possess as much knowledge as possible about these things, as they are very intriguing..." Praze began as he trailed off and leaned forward slightly. "... and knowledge will give me a distinct advantage over whomever I need it against."

"Well, you're right. Knowledge is very important. Without the pursuit of it, we never would have changed from the bloodthirsty beasts of old. Not to say there aren't some still around despite how unlikely it is to come across a dragon that's fallen into depravity," Viri commented as he looked out the window, deep in thought. Praze then coughed meaningfully and Viri came back to his senses. "Oh, right. The principles." Praze smiled at his brother, covering everything that was going through his head.

_Viri... is emotionally scarred,_ he thought to himself, not letting anything show. _He blames himself for our mother and father's deaths, even though they weren't his fault. Proving him being slightly irrational, which could prove annoying. He's been travelling for quite some time and still hasn't found the enemy's location, which is unfortunate. Nonetheless, at least Viri should have some stories to tell about his travels. Things that can prepare us for the world out there and the types of people we'll encounter..._ Praze then turned to Viri, who had begun to explain principles and the abilities that came with them.

"So, what shall we start with? How about Silva and I's principle; the Forest principle?" Viri asked and Praze nodded. "Well, basically, Night Furies hatched in a Forest principle have heightened senses when in forests through the connection we have to it. That's pretty much it for us, though it does come in handy. Like last night when I sensed you," Viri added.

_Viri never should have been able to sense me then. I knew there was an explanation for it..._ Praze thought. _But hold on... _"Are you telling me that you don't have to be in a forest principle to be able to use those abilities?" he asked and Viri nodded. "Wow... I never realised. I always assumed that you had to be in your own principle to use principle abilities."

"Woah, don't call them principle abilities," Viri said with a slight grin. "They're called Natives. As in native to the principle? Anyway, that's mine. I can use it in any forest. Now, what about you? Do you remember what principle you were hatched in?"

Praze breathed in heavily as he shut his eyes. "I'll never forget..." he trailed off as he opened his eyes again, a disturbingly blank look on his face as he stared outside. "I remember... so vividly... a feeling of deep distress when I tried to break those walls around me. I couldn't. I was early, premature, _weak_. During that length of time... I grew an uncomfortably high level of claustrophobia. I'm not scared of anything else... nothing makes me uncomfortable... but my claustrophobia is enough to bring me close to a mental breakdown. I don't like being around people, either. I don't like their attention. It's like... people knowing me makes mental walls and I just can't deal with it." Praze then stopped suddenly when he realised he had been rambling on. "Oh, but yeah. I was hatched in a rain principle."

"_Woah_ there Praze, stop. Don't just dismiss this, this is serious!" Viri exclaimed as Praze rolled his eyes.

"Why?" he asked. "How is it serious? It's no big deal, I prefer to be alone. Oh, and that reminds me; I was going to chat to Hiccup about him building me a small hut on that massive mountain on the other side of the island," Praze said as he went to stand but Viri stopped him.

"Fine, but do you want to know about Natives or what?" Viri asked and Praze mentally smiled, but remained blank.

_It worked._ "Sure. Tell me about my Native," he replied.

Viri frowned but eventually decided to let it go. _If he says he's fine, he's fine. Trust him._ "Okay, so I take it you know the properties of our saliva?"

"Mhm."

"Alright then, imagine that but in rain," Viri continued, and instantly a small smile crept onto Praze's face.

"So rain works the same way for me as saliva does; it regenerates? That's my Native?" he asked and Viri had to throw his arms up in defeat.

"Honestly, how do you do that? From what I've observed, you've taken every minute detail to form and conceptualise ideas in a matter of seconds! I know Night Furies are supposed to be the smartest species that exist, but this surpasses pretty much everything I've learned," Viri said with a look of disbelief on his face.

"I just take things in and make associations about it differently. It's just my way of thinking, not that I possess any higher level of intelligence," Praze muttered with a sigh as he looked off into the clouds again. _I wonder what you two are doing right now, Toothless and Ace. _

"Oh but you do possess a high level of humility, Praze. Because your way of thinking has nothing to do with it. You're certainly gifted," Viri pushed and suddenly the most unthinkable thing became of Praze.

He scowled. Praze actually displayed a negative emotion. With a fire in his eyes, Praze stood up with cold and nonexistent absolution.

"Do _not_ ever think of me as higher than anyone else; _gifted_, if anything I am lower than most. I won't even let people _see_ me, let alone _talk_ to me. If Toothless and Ace hadn't washed up on my island I probably would have never spoken with anyone for the rest of my life and I would have been perfectly alright with that. Hear that? I would have been _fine_ without _talking to anyone_. Tell me I'm gifted when I have such an obvious psychological illness as that." With that, Praze pushed his chair aside as he walked over to the door, unlatched it and walked into the rain as he shut the door behind him. Finding the ledge to the cliff a few short meters away, Praze walked over to it and sat down to take a deep breath in. _What am I doing? I don't get angry... _He heard footsteps behind him.

"I'm sorry, Praze, I was only stating the truth. I thought you would at least appreciate the truth," Viri said as he sat down next to him.

"If it's as obvious as you made it sound then you didn't need to state it, did you?" Praze asked as he looked out to the murky whitewater beneath him and took a moment to admire the crashing waves. "I don't need to appreciate it."

"That may be true, but having too much humility can cause problems. Honesty isn't boasting, either," Viri continued.

"Honesty isn't boasting, but when honesty is redundant it's boasting. Hypothetically, let's say you overstimulate that I'm _gifted. _Those who experience that will begin to resent me against my own consent and merit. So don't ever talk of me as some genius, even if I am perceived as one. Okay?" With that, Praze turned to Viri as the older brother smiled and nodded his head, silently beginning to stand.

"Alright, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Now, let's go inside-"

"-I'm staying out here."

"We're getting drenched."

"What part of me do you think cares? I thoroughly enjoy the refreshing feeling against my... skin." _Have to get used to human terms, _Praze mused.

Viri sighed. "Well, I know for a fact that native principles don't affect what sort of weather an individual enjoys, so I know you're not using that as an excuse," he replied before he sat back down. "Shall I continue explaining Natives or do you just want to sit here?"

"No, explain the rest to me, then we'll go and find Toothless and Ace so we can explained how to orient," Praze replied. "Anyway, you're yet to explain Sun and Snow Natives to me, though I do believe I already know the latter." Viri's eyes widened as he turned to him.

"Oh really? And how is that?" he asked as Praze smiled.

"Because Ace hatched in a Snow principle." For a moment, there was just the patter of rain as Viri processed that.

"I can't believe it! It's so rare it's ridiculous and for whatever reason _Silva's_ _mate_ just _had_ to be the first I encounter..." Viri trailed off with a slight chuckle. "So I assume she told you and that's how you know?"

"Yep. She can turn her scales white in a Snow principle... but, as a matter-of-fact, she can really turn white anywhere, can't she?" Praze asked.

"Not anywhere, she has to be in snow," Viri replied and Praze rolled his eyes.

"Well, obviously. I just meant that she doesn't have to be in a Snow principle to do it."

Viri just looked at him for a moment with some kind of smile on his face and chuckled lightly. "I'm done with you!" he laughed as he punched Praze's shoulder lightly before standing. "Well, anyway," Viri began as he calmed down, "shall we go and find them?" he asked as he extended his hand out. "Unfortunately, I don't actually even know what the Sun Native actually is, so we might as well leave it at that and look into it another time."

"Sounds like a plan," Praze replied as he took it and hoisted himself up.

* * *

Some time later, several had gathered at Hiccup's house once more. Hiccup, Valka, Cloudjumper, Astrid and Stormfly, of which the lattermost had an explanation of the previous meeting from Astrid earlier that morning, were all there when Praze and Viri arrived. A short conversation had ensued because Praze was now able to talk, unlike the night before. So, much to his discomfort, he told them about how he met Toothless and the various things that happened on Amicus up until Saevus arrived, of which he hadn't mentioned. _Best not to talk of such things_, Praze had thought to himself. Then not long after he had finished talking, Toothless and Ace had finally showed up.

"Where were you two?" Hiccup asked as they arrived in through the balcony. Ace smiled as she greeted them all before she turned to Hiccup.

"I'm sure you're aware it was quite a late night last night, so Toothless and I slept in," she replied and he nodded.

Praze looked at the both of them with an inquisitive eye as he took note of the remunerative expression on Toothless' face that was somewhat accompanied by the slightest hint of a lazy smile. _Of course_, Praze thought as he rolled his eyes. "What was that for?" Viri whispered, having noticed the action. The younger brother simply remained blank.

"Because they _totally_ slept in... with this rain pouring down, when Night Furies have senses heightened enough to wake at the slightest disturbance of any stimuli. There's no cover in the cove, either," Praze whispered in return.

"Well, what were they doing then? Where were they?" Viri asked, still clueless. Praze didn't blame him. Viri hadn't seen the things he'd seen.

"Just forget I said anything."

Viri shrugged his shoulders as he turned back to Hiccup, who had began the meeting. "Now, there are just a few things that I want to clarify from last night. Viri," Hiccup began as he turned to him. "There are four Night Furies currently on Berq, am I right?"

"Yes."

"And each one is able to switch between human form and Night Fury form at will?"

"Not yet, but I believe over the next few years we are going to work on that. Next few years being an undeterminable amount, but still I believe you get the point. We will work on it," Viri replied. Hiccup smiled as he turned back to the rest of the group.

"Wonderful, now I believe is the time where we begin to plan those undeterminable amount of years. Viri? Your thoughts? You have more insight on this than anyone else here, so I will be needing your help a lot."

"Well, if you would like the currently observable goals, then I would say that we should begin training. And by training, I mean you, me, the village, _everyone_. Everyone in the village needs to have basic combat capabilities. A select few of people here will be given advanced training, namely you, Astrid and anyone else you believe can undertake it. Praze, Silva, Ace and I will all begin to train on our orienting as well as specialised combat in our human forms. The construction teams will start working on advanced defences as well, and you will be one of the crucial parts in our defence because you'll be our engineer. With a mind like yours we need to use it to _create," _Viri finally finished as he waited for Hiccup's response.

"I... I like it. I think you're on the right track and I definitely think I can help with not only creating defences, but with helping creating a means of attack. I've been thinking about this for a while, but with the more uses of Zippleback gas comes more ideas I can use with it, such as making various projectile weapons that could be used by the general populace. But... there's one problem to it," Hiccup said with a sigh.

"Which is?" Viri asked with his head tilted in confusion.

"Well... have you even asked Toothless, Praze and Ace if they want to train and fight? I know Toothless will want to, but we can't just expect Ace and Praze to fight for us straight after they arrive here," Hiccup explained and Viri nodded his head.

"I understand," he replied as he turned to Ace. "I trust you will think on it?" he asked and she smiled.

"No need. I'm willing to help," Ace said. Viri smiled as he turned to Praze.

"And you?" he asked. Praze stood there, leaning up against the wall with a thoughtful expression on his face before he turned to him.

"I will take the training, but I cannot guarantee that I will protect Berq fully," Praze replied, causing most in the room to become confused.

"What, why not?" Toothless spoke up for the first time as he questioned Praze.

"I will not protect Berq if an opportunity arises for me to gain information on the Decree, information such as the location of their main forces and their leaders," Praze replied and Toothless begun to understand, unlike most of the others, who still had no idea why Praze was saying the things he was. After all, Toothless knew Praze the most. Not nearly enough as he'd like, as the young Night Fury was as inward as anything, but he knew him enough to know Praze _did_ care for Berq, even if it didn't currently look like it. "I, personally, am not obligated to protect Berq _but_ I will say that, as a Night Fury, I am obligated to the undoing and discontinuation of the Decree."

"I understand," was all Hiccup said, simply. "I know I can't ask any more of you than that, so I won't. Now, do we have anything else to discuss?"

Everyone looked between one another as silence filled the room.

"I guess not then, let's begin."

* * *

**A/N**

**That, my friends, was the end of Part One. Yep. We've come so far... so be prepared for Part Two! It's not a sequel, it'll be a part of this story so there's no need to go and follow another story. And, I would expect (for real this time) to have the next chapter out within a week or two. Reason: There has been something I've been looking forward to writing and it's finally coming about. GET KEEEEEEEEEEEEEN**

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	25. Part Two: Prologue

**Part Two – Prologue**

* * *

Documentation of Events

_It has been nearly three years since the arrival of three Night Furies on the archipelagic island known as Berq. Whilst this merited the return of the Chief's dragon and alpha of all the dragons on Berq; Toothless, it also became known, or at least rumoured that two more Night Furies arrived that day. One was the now well-known mate of Toothless', Ace, who aids the alpha with his duties, but there were many that said there was not only another Night Fury, but two, placing the grand total at four Night Furies on Berq. No one has ever seen the other two but it is always a growing suspicion of the people on Berq that the two other Night Furies still live on Berq and that suspicion has made somewhat a legend of them. I, on the other hand, find no merit to these words. Viri, one of those Night Furies, is within public view every day, but is always in his human form. He rarely orients nowadays, mainly focusing on the development of Hiccup's new defences and the training of Ace, Toothless and I. The other Night Fury, of course, is me. Even as I write this now, I am sitting on the other side of the massive island that is Berq, nearly forty kilometres away from the main village, in the house Hiccup built for me himself. To that, of course, I am grateful. No one in the village other than Astrid, Hiccup and Valka have laid eyes on both my human and Night fury forms and I would prefer it stay that way. _

_Of course, sometimes I go into the outskirts of the village, being Viri's and Hiccup's respective houses, but the closest I go to civilisation regularly is to the cove. Most of our training is held there, where we learn how to fight using our human bodies and also how to use our abilities, as well as experiment with them. Thanks to the experimentation, we have found out numerous things about our abilities. Reconstruction is, in fact, much more than Viri and I had previously imagined. It turns out that we are able to reconstruct not only to places that are in our immediate area, but also to places that we have embedded into our memories. Places like Amicus. I found out I can willingly travel between Berq and Amicus as I please and thus have found myself spending a lot of free time there. On top of that, we found out that I have another ability known as perception evasion, or reality shifting, whichever is preferred, and the reason for that is because of my so-called 'immense' desire to be alone and to remain unnoticed by others. I wouldn't call it immense... This was also the reason why I could reconstruct, even being an even child in Viri and I's family. Only the odd offspring should be able to use it and the theory we've come to is that my other ability offsets the rule. Anyway, another one of the main things we found out was that none of us, being Viri, Ace, Toothless and I, could use our abilities without being in direct line of sight of the stars. It still amuses me some when I think of how Ace said that we shouldn't be able to use our abilities during the day because the stars were gone. Obviously I was sure to remind her that the stars simply become unable to be viewed thanks to the sun and that they were still there. Either way, none of us were able to use our abilities in caves or other places like such. Of course, this also applied to our ability to orient. We could not orient unless we were in the line of sight of a star, however odd it seems. _

_On the topic of orienting, however, we found that we don't exactly have to recite either of the incantations to either change or revert back. Instead, we can now change between forms instantly through just forming the associations in our heads. Which, as to be expected, was fairly difficult to fully understand. I am currently the only one able to change instantly, though the others have become quite fast they have not yet been able to reach the level I am at. We still don't know everything behind our mysterious abilities to perform feats such as reconstruction or orienting, but at least we do know that whenever we change no one can ever directly observe the change because there is always a blinding flash of white light. Though I can change instantly, I still have to perform the basic means of orienting. This includes tearing a single scale from my body, presumably to retain our dragon forms in them somehow, before we can even do anything. When we wake in our human bodies the only thing that remains of our original form is our eyes that retain the original colour; our binary vascular system, which allow us to operate our bodies at a higher level than regular humans, who only have a single heart; and the single scale that is essential for reverting back. Now, this progress is all fine and dandy, but it's nothing compared to the radical changes that have forged Berq into a defensive stronghold._

_Viri and Hiccup worked tirelessly on their plans to improve, and they most certainly did exactly that. Berq now has a large stone wall, two metres thick, ten metres high, surrounding the village. It took the village some time to build and even more time to adjust to it, but eventually it was finished. What came next was the various weapons that defended said wall. Using Zippleback gas, Hiccup was able to create cannons to mount those walls every five metres. Nearly a year later, he refined the design to a handheld weapon with much smaller ammunition, that could be used by the villagers. Hiccup thought he'd taken a step forward with ingenuity, only to find that one of the newer traders, a woman by the name of Arc, had already been trading such weapons – known simply as 'firearms' – through most of her contractors. Arc... I've heard a lot about this woman from Hiccup and Viri's dealings with her. Apparently she's hiding something, however great a trader she is. She visits Berq regularly and stays for extended periods of time, often leaving her ship in the bay and adventuring off into the island. Fortunately she's never gone more than twenty or so kilometres in, so I've been safe. Her existence has certainly piqued my curiosity, which I've found... is rather hard to do. Either way, she's been the trader that hasn't much, if not at all, been intimidated by the fortification and weaponisation of Berq and as such has been one of the best traders. _

_As far as trading goes, we've become aware that some ships have had stowaways onboard. Stowaways that could possibly have been linked to the Decree. This has increased our security and tightened what ships can trade with us and what ships can't. Over the years we've also had an increase of population by nearly half of the original number when I first arrived here. We've yet to work out if it's because we have become the most defensive island in the whole archipelago, and offer safety and remarkable living quality compared to most places, or if people are simply curious of the dragons that live here. I can't really be bothered figuring it out – I can't be bothered figuring much out these days – as I've become somewhat lazy. If Toothless were to read this I'm sure he would say something along the lines of; "You're not 'somewhat lazy' – you're so lazy that I wouldn't even be surprised if you reconstruct mere metres because you can't be bothered moving," and he's probably right. Not that I do that, because what would be the point, but I have been observed to be... lackadaisical. Very lackadaisical. It almost amuses me how much that word can be related to me. I don't really know what I really want. I don't have any motivations because there's not really anything that deeply motivates me... it's odd. However, I've found that I rather enjoy reading. _

_Other things that are going on between us Night Furies have mainly been our training, but at times we have our moments just like we did on Amicus when me met nearly three years ago. It's good to just relax and the nostalgia is somewhat wonderful. I'm not one for sentiment but nostalgia is great. Upon those things, I have often heard Toothless and Ace arguing about something. I've still not been able to understand what they are talking about, which is infuriating on my part, but what I've heard have been things along the line of "why don't you go out there? They could be on their own!" with Toothless saying things like, "there's nothing I can do, despite how much I want to find her and find out my past. I just don't have any memories whatsoever." This constantly annoys me. Why don't they ever talk to me about it? It's obvious that Toothless wants to find someone – a she – but has lost his memories. I just don't know who and I don't really want to ask him about it. I've decided that if he wants me to know about it, he would tell me. After all, what effect does it have on my existence?_

_Anyway, as I was saying before about reading, dragons don't generally have a written language, but the words are the same. I just had to learn the written form of the words. Through this, I've found that I rather enjoy learning and appraising new skills. Such as learning the anatomy of human bodies; something I'm most thankful for, as I am able to use my preferred form of combat. That would be by using 'pressure points'. Another skill I've learned is another form of combat, being combat using weapons. Viri taught me about human weapons and when he showed me his collection of fine steel weapons, there was only one that really caught my attention; a weapon called a 'short sword' or 'combat knife'. It was small and made of the finest material in the whole of Viri's collection on board his own personal ship he had apparently 'borrowed'. He said I had I fine eye. Of course, it was anything but that. It simply looked more... practical. It had a blade the length of my forearm with a silver-lined leather grip and a flat hilt. The blade was one-sided and very slightly curved so that the dull side had the smallest of a curve carved towards the blade's middle like an indent. Viri told me to hold it in my hands so that the blade protruded out between my thumb and forefinger and asked how it felt. I plainly told him it felt wrong before proceeding to try holding it the other way; holding it so that the hilt was between my thumb and forefinger with the blade protruding out behind my little finger. Viri wasn't even surprised when I told him it felt more natural that way, and proceeded to tell me that is known as an 'icepick grip'. He told me it was a grip that was used in fighting styles adapted for agility and speed. I smiled at that. It described me perfectly. So, without and further hesitation Viri up and gave me the short sword, complete with a belt and leather sheath attached so that the sheath rested upon my back, right at the end of my spine, with the hilt on my right hand side where it was easily accessible. Viri then told me that it had a name. 'Shizukesa'. He told me it meant 'serenity' in the foreign language he took his alias name from. Which, of course, only told me how much more the weapon suited me. He then told me the name 'Hakuryuu' meant 'white dragon', and I realised the 'white' was metaphorical in meaning. It was rather well devised on his part. _

_Anyway, he trained me with the short sword that I now have on my person even as I write this, and decidedly I'm never without it on me. In my human form, I'm left rather defenceless – we all are – despite our hand-to-hand combat training as after all, you can only do so much against one with a weapon if you don't have one yourself. Using fire in our human forms is also unacceptable, as we have to remain undercover and hidden from the Decree. By that, I mean that the Decree must not know that we are able to orient. Anyway as such, we (Night Furies) all have our personalised weapons on us at all times. Toothless has taken a liking to the sword Viri uses, and decidedly now uses one akin to Viri's. Ace however, is slightly different. As well as having a dagger (which she has gotten rather good at, I might add) she also carries one of Hiccup's finest works; a firearm that is a size slightly larger than a hand and intricately designed to fire a small lead projectile called 'shot'. It took him many hours and days to complete it, though is now making more and more with utmost efficiency. He's also begun to hand them out as gifts to his trusted legislative assembly, as well as to Astrid and Valka and most of his friends. He plans to have one in all of his townspeople's possession so they can be assured of their safety if any sign of war begins to emerge. Speaking of which... I believe I should delve into the more darker themes of this soliloquy. The things I have come to terms with and the predictions I have made... about the Decree and the war that is coming. The war... that, I must regrettably confess, will come any day now. _

_The signs are all there. Deceit. Conspiracy. The people mysteriously appearing on trade ships. The new trade ships that no one has ever heard of. All of it. Lies. _

_War is coming. _

_Death will not heed moral convention; death shall swiftly disinherit those from their trespasses and send them awry into the flames. _

* * *

**A/N**

**And there we have it, the beginning of Part Two. I hope you all enjoyed its intensity ;) Also, did you enjoy my little easter-egg reference to CCF in the chapter previous? Did you even spot it? Let me know in your review :)**

**Thank you to:**

**Moonchaser the Night Fury**

**Tess**

**King Tyras**

**Sag1ttar1us**

**Mordooooh**

**Skyress1**

**and Sosuke Tenki**

**Eh, a small amount of 7 only? Down from 17!? What did I do wrong!? XD**

**Hope you enjoyed and have a good one!**


	26. Part Two: Momentum (1)

**Part Two - #1 Momentum**

* * *

It was dark. Cold and crisp. The hour of the night, or morning, was late, or early. The damp firelight of a flickering lamp was all that illuminated the small wood cabin, the sounds of waves crashing lightly on the sand and the wind coursing its way through the trees were the only sounds that breached its way inside. A small creak of strained wood made itself known as a thin young man with thick black hair down past his ears stood up from a small desk, simultaneously dropping the quill from his hand into the pot of ink beside him. He looked at the leather-bound book in front of him as he softly blew on the pages before shutting it, placing it on the bookshelf against the wall. He sighed as he stood up straight with one arm reached up and the other behind his head he stretched his aching body, silently musing at sitting for so long.

"Too long," he muttered, kneeling down to stretch his thighs. After of few brief moments of that, he stood once more. "Time to go."

With that, he dematerialised into a faint blue haze.

* * *

"What a lovely night," a crisp female voice rang out above the sound of the waves, the dragon beside her smiling in agreement.

"Most definitely," he replied as she turned her head to him and simply smiled.

"So, Toothless, what do you think?" She stopped in the sand and closed her eyes, feeling the wind against her scales.

"I think..." he began, moving beside her so that his heated breath lightly tickled her neck, "it's a wonderful idea." She let out a light murmur of contentment as he softly nuzzled her there and a lazy smile spread across her lips in response. He then pulled back, continuing to talk softly. "But Ace, are you really sure? With all that's going on?" She proceeded to lean into his chest as she wrapped her tail around his, and nuzzled into him.

"There's not a moment in this world that could make me doubt that the path we are on is anything but destined for us," she replied with complete credence in her words. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Toothless smiled. "I couldn't have said it any better myself, but... how exactly are we going to go about this?" His face showed a somewhat determined curiosity, a curiosity Ace could only lightly laugh at.

"Well, we're going to have to try a lot to even have a chance," she replied as she began walking again with Toothless following behind her slowly with a smile forming on his face.

"I like the sound of that," he replied with a laugh and she laughed in return.

"You would," she jested as she laughed again, only just becoming aware of something as they continued along the beach. "Hey..." she spoke up, suddenly becoming calm, focusing on something in the distance. "What is that? It looks like some sort of a rock..." Toothless then squinted into the distance to where she was looking and nodded his head.

"Looks like it. Of all the times we've walked along here, I've never noticed it though..." he trailed off, thinking. "Maybe the tide is just out further than usual?" he mused aloud.

"Either way, let's check it out!" Ace exclaimed as she began to walk towards it. She had a curious smile on her face as she approached. A smile that seemed to fade and change as she drew closer and smelt something in the air. A smile that had completely changed to an expression of concern as she broke into a run. "Toothless..." she trailed off in horror as she slowed, having come up beside the black lifeless form that belonged to none other than a Night Fury.

"I know. We need to get it to somewhere safe right away," Toothless replied as he assessed the situation. "What are they doing here? I can hear their heartbeat from here; it's barely there. Whoever this is, they are in a critical condition. Please, stay here with them while I-"

"-I'll go, she cut him off as she spread her wings. "I'm faster and you know it." With that, she took off, soon becoming invisible against the dark canvas of the night sky.

"May the stars be with you," he muttered as he turned back to the Night Fury's lifeless form. He walked around to the other side, taking in the Fury's shape and size. _Female. Looks young. _"Now, what's wrong with you?" he asked aloud. _Doesn't look like there's any blood or external injuries... maybe she's just asleep? _He sniffed the air once more and frowned as his eyes narrowed. He then sniffed around near her mouth, and had to resist the urge to kick at the sand in anger. _N__o_... s_he's been poisoned... _he thought with a growl and could only begin to feel certain emotions at a realisation. _This is almost definitely the Decree's handiwork. Which means..._ He then realised something gut-wrenching. _They're coming. _

* * *

In a dark cobbled alleyway, a brilliant flash of pure white light emanated from its end. Out from it walked a tall, slim young woman with long black hair tied back out of her face, allowing the however-dim light to appraise the deep amethyst of her eyes. She ran with urgency in her strides as she ran up to the house at the very edge of the village. She ran up to the door and, with solid determination, opened the door without any sign of a knock and yelled loudly, _"HICCUP!"_

_Thud. _Hiccup quickly got up from the floor, disoriented, before looking up at the figure before him. "Ace?! What's wrong? Why are you in your human form?"

"I'll tell you on the way, you need to come with me right now and with some rope."

* * *

Toothless looked up at the sound of wingbeats to see Ace approaching with Hiccup on her back. _Finally._ "Over here!" he called and after a few moments Ace was on the ground and Hiccup rushed over to him.

"Oh my Gods... another Night Fury. What's wrong with it?" Hiccup asked.

"She's poisoned. And I have no doubt in my mind that it was the Decree... but we'll talk of those matters later. Right now, we need to get her on my back and up to someplace safe. How about the great hall? And did you alert Viri and Praze?"

"Astrid has gone off to get Viri so he should be here any second once he's gotten Praze," Hiccup replied as he watched Ace move the Night Fury onto Toothless' back before he moved to begin tying them together. After a few seconds and just as expected, Viri materialised at the other side of the beach, saw them, and appeared next to them in a similar fashion.

"Astrid told me where you guys were here. What can I do?" he asked with widened eyes at the Night Fury.

"Did you tell Praze to come? Toothless thinks she's been poisoned and, even worse, by the Decree," Hiccup replied but Viri shook his head.

"I reconstructed to his cabin but it was empty. I think he's gone to Amicus which, unfortunately I still haven't visited. Which means..."

"You can't reconstruct there to tell him... damn it," Toothless muttered. "Do you think you'll be able to cure her?"

"Look, Praze's medical knowledge is much better than mine but... I'll see what I can do. At most, I should be able to bring the poison out of a state of flux but I doubt I'll be able to cure her fully," Viri replied as Toothless took off. "Looks like we're going. Where to?"

"Great Hall. Get things set up there for us and make sure there are no people – or dragons – around," Hiccup told him as he jumped onto Ace's back and they flew off with Toothless, on their way to the Great Hall.

"Will do," Viri whispered to himself, dematerialising into a blue haze.

* * *

The Great Hall was empty. _Thank goodness,_ Viri thought as he cleared one of the massive tables and began to reconstruct between his house and the Great Hall, bringing with him each time several flasks and ceramic pots. By the time he had brought everything, Toothless, Ace and Hiccup had arrived with the Night Fury.

"So, how are we going to go about this?" Toothless asked as he rolled the Night Fury off of his back and onto the table, causing the slightest of a stir to come from her. Everyone's eyes widened as they stood, silent, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did. Viri then let a sigh before he realised something crucial.

"I'm going to have to wake her to get the symptoms, otherwise we're not going to get anywhere..." Viri trailed off. Toothless then realised as well.

"Hiccup, you're going to have to leave."

"What? Why?" Hiccup asked and Toothless turned to him.

"We don't know how she's going to react when she wakes. It would be problematic if she woke in human presence without having any knowledge of it. You get me?"

"Of course," Hiccup replied. "Let me know once she's alright with humans so I can come back in." With that, Hiccup slowly turned and left the room. Seconds later, a white flash made itself known as Viri stepped out, in his dragon form.

"Shall we begin?" he asked and Toothless gave a firm nod. "Well then... be ready. She isn't restrained, so when I wake her..."

"Got it."

"Alright, here we go..." Viri trailed off as he lit the leaf in his hand with a small burst of fire, bringing it to the female's nose. Her eyes immediately opened before she let out a cough, only just coming to her senses. Toothless and Ace were ready to restrain her if the need arose, but it seemed it wasn't necessary. She just sat up and looked around at the three of them.

"Where am I?" she asked plainly.

"On an island called Berq," Viri replied, moving closer to her. "It might come as a shock to you, but you've been poisoned. We mean you no harm and wish to help you, so could you... please... tell..." he trailed off when he noticed that the female had begun to stare. And she was staring at Toothless.

"What is it?" Toothless asked her, confused, before he marvelled at her eyes. They were so luminously gold and vivid; almost as if he were looking at the precious metal itself. Yet they differed; they were ever so _fluorescent. _

"I don't know..." she replied, before turning to Viri. "You. You said I was poisoned. With what?"

_How can she be so upfront in these circumstances? How is she so calm? _Toothless thought.

"I don't know, that was why I woke you. I need to know your symptoms, would you mind telling me? Also, my name is Viri. This is Silva, and Ace," Viri told her, pointing to each of them. "What's your name?"

Toothless quickly interrupted, saying, "though you can just call me Toothless. I am the alpha over this domain, just so you are informed."

"Alright, I will do that then, Toothless, alpha over this domain. My name... is gone. I cannot remember anything of my personal circumstances or anything of the sort," she replied, remaining straight-faced.

"Ok, it seems you don't have memory loss... but rather a form of memory alteration, or blocking," Viri stated. "That nails it down to-"

"-_Nerium oleander,_" the female finished before closing her eyes and holding her head in her paws. "As I said, personal circumstances, gone. But what seems to be my knowledge remains. Though it hurts."

"Yes, it is _nerium oleander_, unfortunately a poison I cannot cure. But I can treat it, and bring your heart rate back up to normal," Viri concluded. "As for you memories, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the only other individual who knows how to cure you returns."

"And who would that be?" she asked, but Viri dismissed her question.

"Listen, before we tell you anything we need to know how you got here, if you can remember, as well as giving us a name we can call you until you can remember your actual name," he said as he began mixing things together.

"You can call me... Gold. I'm sure my eyes are gold, so it's appropriate. For now. As for circumstances... I've no idea," she replied. "I think it would be fair if you told me exactly where I am, and why I am in a human village?"

All three heads turned as Ace, Toothless and Viri's eyes widened at the question. "And how did you know that?" Toothless asked.

"Are you calling me vapid and unintelligent?!" she suddenly snapped, glaring daggers at Toothless. "My immediate surroundings are _heavily_ abundant enough for me to deduce we are with human presence."

"I am sorry... Gold... I didn't mean to insult you. It was just... surprising, is all," Toothless replied and Gold smirked.

"Right, so are you going to tell your human friends to enter the room? I've scented them both already and I don't really care, but I won't hurt them. I can guarantee that," Gold replied and Toothless nodded.

"So be it," he replied before turning towards the door. "Hiccup, you can come in now," he called out, raising his voice slightly. Sure enough, Hiccup entered the room shortly thereafter and with Astrid. "I don't really have the time to tell you the story, nor do I want to, so I might as well just tell you the both those humans can speak dragonese and this whole island is covered with dragons, coexisting with humans. That's it."

"Interesting..." Gold murmured before suddenly she winced and clutched her chest.

"Are you alright?" Viri asked but she waved him away with her paw.

"Fine," she muttered through gritted teeth. "Hurry up and finish it, I hate feeling like I only have one heart."

"It's ok, I'm done," Viri replied. "Here," he said, holding out a small leaf with some greenish-looking paste on in. "Put the whole thing in your mouth and swallow."

"Ok," she replied as she took it from him and put it right into her mouth, swallowing it instantly. "Done, now what?" she asked Viri as Toothless explained to Hiccup and Astrid what was going on and the situation. Ace just sat back and watched the whole thing. _This is exhausting, _she mused. _Why can't Praze just magically appear and make things easier?_

* * *

Praze laid on the sand, his body constantly being pelted with rain, a deep satisfaction within him. _It's nice to come and feel the rain every once and a while_, he thought before he stood and brushed the sand off. _However nice it may feel, I still have to get dry or I will... unfortunately... catch some sort of a cold. I suppose I could go back to Berq, maybe dry off in front of the Great Hall's fire? No one'will be there, I should just be able to reconstruct there without any hassles. _Praze then stretched and yawned loudly. _I'm tired, too, let's get this over with and go to bed._ So, without further hesitation, Praze turned around to the Great Hall's fire and knelt down in front of it, sitting cross-legged and holding his palms out to warm them up. His black hair was sopping and fell down the sides of his face, making him feel the urge to push it off to the side but he ignored it. He yawned once more before falling back onto the palms of his hands, stretching his legs out along the cobbled floor and shutting his eyes. _Though I enjoy the cold... this is still nice._

Behind him and staring at him was Toothless, Ace, Viri, Hiccup and Astrid. Ace's mouth was open and the look on her face was one of the utmost disbelief. _Are you kidding me..._ she thought to herself.

"Uh... Praze?" Viri asked, causing Praze's eyes to open.

_Perhaps I was mistaken,_ Praze thought. _I've noticed Toothless, Ace, Hiccup and Astrid are all in the room. I recognise their scents. A meeting of some sort? This late? How odd. _He then turned around to the astounded faces of all those he had mentioned, but one thing was odd. Something was laid on the table in front of Viri, but the brother was blocking his view. "Yeah?" he replied. "Am I interrupting a meeting of some sort?" he asked flatly, somewhat disinterested. "Should I be here?"

"Oh, Praze... you've no idea..." Toothless replied as Praze stood and turned around, beginning to walk over. He noticed Toothless, Ace _and_ Viri were all in their dragon forms. _Why?_ Then he noticed something on the table. Something that made his eyes widen.

The unconscious form of a Night fury. Just casually. Quite lucidly. But _real_.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hey look at that. Another chapter. Please let me know your thoughts of the current developments. ;)**

**Thanks to: (as of when I updated, I know there will probably be some who will review on the last chapter after this so thanks to them in advance)**

**Sousuke Tenki**

**mathmonkey167**

**Moonchaser the Night Fury**

**Colinou**

**SoNevable**

**razor95**

**and Guest**

**Hope you enjoyed, have a good one!**


	27. Part Two: Inception (2)

**Part Two - #2 Inception**

* * *

Praze stood silently, his eyes widening further every second he stood staring at the magnificent sight before him. He was breathless, and could do nothing but remain in awe. And yet his face was as blank as ever.

"What is it doing here? What happened?" he asked, turning to Toothless.

"Her name is Gold – at least, that's the name she's chosen for herself until she remembers her real name," he replied and Praze turned back to Gold's unconscious from.

"Why? What's wrong with her? What's happened to her memory?" he asked, placing his elbow on his other arm as he gently rubbed his chin.

"She's been poisoned – and I've reason to believe it was the Decree who has done it," Toothless replied as he turned his head to Viri. "Viri, what did you say she was poisoned with?" he then asked.

"_Nerium_ _oleander,_" he replied and Praze's head swivelled sharply to meet his.

"What sort of treatment have you given her?"

"I just gave her a few filancia leaves and made a salve to render her unconscious."

"Of course, the active carbon in them is enough to stop her heart rate from slowing but it'll do nothing to help her memories return."

"Do you think you can cure her?"

Praze turned around and eyed Viri with a cold suave demeanour about him as he cracked his neck. "The question you should be asking, rather, is how long it will take until she's cured fully."

Viri rolled his eyes. "Well, at least _that's_ good news. So, how long?"

"Anytime between an hour and a year," Praze replied. "It depends on how long the poison has been in her system and how the poison has affected her individually; there's really no way to tell. Once I cure her we'll just have to monitor her progress... and then we'll have to discuss what we're going to do about the Decree."

There were a few nervous shuffles around the room once Praze mentioned that. But nonetheless, they were relieved.

"So she's going to be okay?" Hiccup asked and everyone was reminded that he and Astrid were in the room as well.

"Yes, she'll be fine. When she wakes up we'll be able to ask her more, too, get her acclimated to Berq and the situation she's in. I'm sure she'll have clues to the Decree, also. So don't worry," Toothless told him.

"Now." Praze's voice cut the air as if it were solid and all eyes turned to him. "I'll begin," he said, reaching for the scale around his neck as he was engulfed in white, before seconds after he appeared once more, his actively-swishing tail giving away his curiosity for once. "Might as well work comfortably," he murmured as he reached for several of Viri's assorted medicinal herbs and plants.

* * *

It took him minutes. In his paws Praze held a small cup of a silvery liquid, and he sighed. "Done. I'm going to wake her now."

Praze quickly found the remnants of the leaf Viri had used earlier to do the exact same thing, before he walked over to Viri." Can you light this for me?" he asked, handing the leaf to Viri.

"Why can't you light it yourself?" Viri asked, and he had no idea why but for the slightest of a second, he saw something in Praze's eyes. Something that he couldn't associate with anything he had experienced in his entire life, and it made him shiver involuntarily. But in a second it was gone, and he shook his head to clear it as he took the leaf with a sigh.

"Because, I'm busy," Praze replied as he walked over to Gold's body with Viri, who walked around next to her head.

"Ready?"

"Ready. Do it."

And so, Viri moved the leaf to Gold's nose and her eyelids began to flutter.

"Wakey, wakey," Praze mused blankly as her golden eyes focused on his and remained there as they widened. Praze hesitated for a moment, somewhat unnerved, before he finally moved the cup so it was in front of her. "Drink."

She continued staring into his eyes for a moment before she looked at the cup, taking it and putting it straight to her lips, swallowing earnestly. It almost made Praze laugh at how trusting the female was; taking a cup of a weird liquid and just drinking it without any questions asked. Either she was really stupid... or really smart. Smart enough to know that they wouldn't hurt her; a conclusion that, in Praze's mind, would only come from certain observations. Observations he'd usually make.

If that had been the case, she had successfully piqued his curiosity.

"She'll be fine by morning. I'm going," he muttered before he left the table, walked out the large doors of the Great Hall, and flew off.

"At least that's over with and now we probably won't see him again for ages," Viri sighed as he turned to Gold. "You're going to fall asleep any moment now, and then in the morning, we'll see if any of your memories have returned. I'm sure Toothless and Ace can arrange for... accommodation, am I right?" he asked, turning to see nods from the two, before turning back again. "Alright then. Can you walk?" he asked and, without warning, she jumped off the table.

"Who was that?" she asked. Everyone's heads turned to her, wondering why, of all questions, she'd asked something so trivial. And yet her next words would set off something that would stir in their hearts for some time. "His eyes... were cold."

The entire room fell silent. They all knew exactly what she was talking about. After that, it only took a few more moments before Ace's breath became ragged and she turned and ran out of the Great Hall.

"Stay here," Toothless commanded, his voice thick with worry yet still laced with assertion and authority.

"Okay."

He then walked over to Viri quickly and whispered into his ear. "Go home and orient for me, would you? I'm going to have her stay with you for the night so you can make sure she doesn't do anything, but you must be in your human form and your name is Hakuryuu, got it?" With a brief and hesitant nod from Viri, he ran out after Ace, quickly picking up her scent and following her up to a grassy hill that overlooked the ocean. The dark blue waves reflected the light of the moon, but Ace couldn't see any of it. Her eyes were clenched shut with tears freely flowing, a sight Toothless couldn't help but sync with.

"Toothless..." she sobbed. He walked up next to her and quickly embraced her, holding her tight.

"I know... I know..." he hushed her soothingly as he stroked her back with his tail. "It's alright-"

"No it's _not_ alright, Toothless," she interrupted him, trying to wipe away the tears with one of her paws as she turned to face him. "He doesn't smile, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't... _anything_. He's just blank, Toothless!" she screamed out but was quickly shushed when Toothless pulled her closer to him.

"It'll be alright, Ace. Praze is just... I don't know. But it'll be alright, I know it will, okay?" he replied with a soft whisper. She didn't answer, but instead calmed down a bit and softly rubbed her head against his chest. "Come on, let's go back inside-"

"-No... I don't want to go yet..." she replied softly as she began to slowly fall down Toothless' side; her body finding itself without the energy to remain upright. "Let's stay here for a bit," she whispered as she curled into a ball.

"Ace, we're keeping Gold waiting..." he told her, feeling a sense of displeasure at having to interrupt her peace. "I'd love to stay out here with you, so I'll tell you what – how about we get Gold sorted first?" he asked before suggestively dropping his voice to a whisper, "and then come back out later?" Ace opened one of her eyes with a smirk at that.

"Alright then, I assume that's a fair compromise for getting me all comfortable and making me get up again."

"You came out here and got comfortable on your own."

"You know what?" she asked, her own voice dropping to a whisper as Toothless leaned closer.

"What?"

"You suck."

* * *

Minutes after they'd left, Toothless and Ace reappeared. Astrid and Hiccup were both still there, sat at one of the tables and chatting fervently as Gold sat in front of the fire, staring into it with her back turned to the entrance.

"Hey Gold, would you like to come with us now? We'll find you some place to stay tonight," Toothless called out to her and she turned around.

"Yes thanks, I think I've found that I'm not quite myself, whoever that is... I... I'm sorry for before, I obviously brought up something that you found displacing," Gold apologised with a light smile and Toothless couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the gesture. _Good, it would be annoying if we had another dull and boring soul on Berq, _Toothless mused to himself.

"It's alright, we're just going through tough times at the moment. If you've recovered your memories by morning, you might actually know already of those times, too," Toothless replied. "But we won't stress you for the sake of our own convenience, we'll take good care of you here." Gold smiled again at the reassurance as she walked over to them.

"I appreciate it, Toothless," she replied as he began to walk out of the Great Hall.

"Don't mention it," he replied before he turned to Hiccup. "Goodnight Hiccup, we'll be going now but we'll talk in the morning about it more, ok?" Hiccup nodded and he turned back to Astrid, continuing whatever conversation they were having. "Alright then, let's get going."

After they had left the Great Hall, Gold spoke up as they continued walking. "I'm sorry, but are you going to introduce her?" she asked with slight amusement, referring to Ace beside him.

"Oh yes! Of course, how could I forget? Gold, this is Ace, my mate," Toothless replied with a smile as Ace smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you, Gold," she said and Gold smiled in reply.

"Nice to meet you too, Ace," she replied. "How old are you two, if you don't mind my asking?" she then asked and Toothless shook his head.

"Not at all," he replied. "We're both twenty-four, though I'm due to be twenty-five sometime soon. What about yourself? Do you remember?" he then asked.

"Well, actually I do. I think I'm..." Gold then trailed off, somehow not finding the words. She then stopped for a moment, clenching her eyes shut as she grew deep in thought. Then, suddenly, her eyes popped open and she smiled. "Seventeen if I remember correctly," she replied. "Which I may not, but what do you think? Do I look seventeen?" she asked.

"You certainly look young," Ace commented. "I'd say you were about seventeen or eighteen."

_Praze is seventeen and almost exactly the same size as her, if not slightly bigger, _Toothless thought. "I'd agree with that," he commented, looking forward to suddenly find himself nearly at their destination. "Hey, would you look at that? We're nearly there."

They'd arrived at the edge of the village; where the large stone walls stopped and instead there was a large open gate that led outside.

"This gate _should_ be closed," Toothless muttered as they walked through. "Anyway, Hakuryuu should be up ahead. He'll take care of you for the night so you should stay with him. He speaks dragonese also, so he'll be able to understand you if you need to ask him anything."

"So he's a human?" Gold asked as the began to trek upon a long and windy road that ran alongside a steep cliff, where black waves crashed into its side.

"Yes, but I trust him very much and you should too," Toothless replied before noticing he was being slightly illogical. "Sorry, I guess it would be hard to trust anyone when you're in a situation like this."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm thankful for your help, and I trust you not to harm me in any way. What would be the point in healing me if you had cruel intentions?" she asked as they found themselves approaching at wooden cabin.

"I understand but anyway, don't worry. We'll get you back to yourself, then we can meet each other fully," Toothless said with a smile as they approached the doorstep. "Well, looks like we're here."

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry for the terrible stop, but I just simply wanted to get a chapter out tonight because I can't write anymore right now xD**

**I'm sure you'll forgive me though ;)**

**Thanks to:**

**Sousuke Tenki**

**Moonchaser the Night Fury**

**Tess**

**Colinou**

**mathmonkey167**

**King Tyras**

**Guest**

**ivanganev1992 (thanks for reviewing those earlier chapters too, I appreciate it)**

**Guest**

**and Guest.**

**That's a bit better, eh? ****Though we have just reached over 20,000 views on the story now, so woo! Of you 88 followers, why not try and leave a review on this chapter, eh? Maybe just a one-word opinion on what you think of the story so far, if you can't muster the energy for any more. If you haven't reviewed yet, try taking this chance to do so ;) it would mean a lot to me if you just did that. Well, catcha in the next one! Have a good one!**


	28. Part Two: Motion (3)

**Part Two - #3 Motion**

* * *

**A/N**

**Ha, you feel terrible when you update a day late when you write on a weekly basis, mathmonkey167? Try over a month. #don'tworryI'mplanningtoplanplanningaplantoplanagoodwritingschedule**

**This chapter was cut in half because I was stuck on certain aspects concerning the latter half of the full chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Harsh golden rays penetrated the small log cabin by the cliff, spurring heavy eyelids to open rather drearily. Who could blame her? It's not every day you lose yourself amongst the complexities of it all.

_Existentialism at its finest, _Gold mused as she heaved herself upright, albeit with great effort. She rubbed her head with her paw, groaning at the mental strain she had been through until eventually she realised where she was. And along with that realisation, realised something else. _Wait... _Her eyes widened and her heart rate rose.

"Good morning!" a voice exclaimed, startling her out of her thoughts and into the moment. _That human... Hakuryuu... why is Toothless working with humans? _Her eyes widened once more. _Are they with the Decree? _"I brought you some fish, may I come in?"

"You may."

The door swung open to reveal _Hakuryuu_, a bucket in hand and a smile to go with it. "How did you sleep?" he asked as he walked over to her and offered the bucket.

"Soundly," she replied, graciously accepting. "Your eyes are the same as that Night Fury last night," she muttered, at the same time noting it.

Viri didn't falter. In fact, he'd anticipated she might notice, as his eyes were really quite outlandish, and had told Toothless so the night previous. "Interesting, don't you think? That would be Viri, if you're searching for a name."

"I've a question if you don't mind," Gold mentioned and Viri looked at her with a nod. "Who was that Night Fury with the blue-purple eyes?"

"Well...-" A knocking at the door interrupted their conversation and Viri stood up. "Sorry, do you mind if I go get that? It's probably Toothless."

"Go ahead. I would say be my guest, but... I'm your guest," she replied with a slight grin as Viri got up and walked downstairs with a light smile on his face. _That was actually a good pun. But seriously... Silva you saved me, _he thought, recalling the unavoidable question Gold asked him. _Unlucky, Praze. She saw you. _

After a few seconds, Viri reached the door and opened it to reveal Toothless, a smile on his face much like the one Viri had earlier. "Thank goodness you're here, Silva, she's asking quite the investigative questions. Should I tell her to come down?"

"That'll do nicely," Toothless replied and Viri disappeared back up the stairs. Toothless couldn't follow him; he was simply too large to fit through the doorway, which was why the top floor was accessible from the balcony for dragons. Well, at least for Viri. _No one ever visits me_ he realised with mock dismay as he walked into the upstairs room. _That's fine. I do the visiting, anyway. _

"Toothless wants you to come down. You awake yet?" he asked, before he noticed the deeply thoughtful expression on her face. Then suddenly, she turned to him and smiled vibrantly.

"Sure thing," she replied as she got up and walked over to the balcony before jumping off, landing on the ground with almost no sound. "Hello, Toothless," she called out to him with a smile.

"Good morning, Gold, did you sleep well?" he asked with a smile and she gave a short nod. "Do you remember anything?"

"Considering I responded to you calling me 'Gold', I wouldn't say I remember too much," she replied flatly. "What I do know, however, is that I escaped but left someone behind." Toothless' eyes widened as Viri appeared by the door once more, and Toothless turned to him momentarily.

"Thanks for housing her last night, Hakuryuu. We're going to go for a walk now, take care," Toothless called out to him before turning to leave, Gold following suit.

"Say, where's your mate?" she asked him.

"Ace was feeling sick so she decided to stay home today," Toothless replied, before taking a deep breath and turning to her. "Now, Gold... tell me what you know."

"No."

"W-What?!" Toothless exclaimed, stopping in front of her.

"No," she repeated, her face inscrutable. "Until I know more about this 'Berq' and about the people and dragons living here, I will not be satisfied and won't be giving you any information. If you cannot inform me and guarantee my safety, then we are done talking."

* * *

Viri watched the two walk away before he retreated back into his house and fell face-first onto his bed, letting out a groan of fatigue into his pillow as he clutched it. He turned over and stared at the ceiling as he remembered what had happened the night previous, after he had left the Great Hall.

_He slowly walked out the door, nodding to Hiccup and Astrid on the way past as Gold sat down in front of the fire behind him. As soon as he had walked outside, Viri took a deep breath and was about to take off before he saw something. He more so felt it, but that feeling had caused him to look around and find the flailing object of a falling Night Fury before it hit the ground on the far side of the island. Viri's brow rose and he quickly made his way over there, leaving behind trails of his reconstruction as he did so, until he stood there with the Night Fury in question. His eyes widened."Praze?" he called, the younger brother straining to get up as he breathed heavily. _

"_Viri... what... are you doing here..." Praze wheezed out, breathing heavily, before a sudden piercing high pitch filled his ears and he clutched at his head with his paws as he fell to the ground. He screamed and moaned as he writhed madly on the grass. He couldn't hear anything. Not the sound of Viri's panicked voice or his own screams of torturous pain. Just that deafeningly loud squeal that filled everything. _

_It continued for nearly a minute until, eventually, the noise died out and Praze slumped to the ground, motionless. Viri tentatively walked over to him, shaken to no end and visibly filled with worry. "P-Praze?" he called out after he'd managed to find his voice. Praze still laid still. "Praze." Viri swallowed hard, and Praze still didn't move or make a sound. Then, a wing. Praze's wing shifted and soon he pushed himself up off of the ground, his mouth, nose and ears all with faint trails of blood leading from them. There were several large cuts that had appeared all over Praze's body, too, and Viri's eyes widened. "Praze!" he exclaimed as he appeared beside him. "What the...?"_

"_I-I... can't s-stay in this form..." _

_Viri was confused. He stood in thought for so long until a blinding flash of light brought him out of his stuporous reverie, and it finally clicked in his mind. "Praze, you can't keep on like this any longer-"_

"_-It's never been this bad," Praze cut him off, breathing heavily on his hands and knees, his hair covering his eyes. His eyes were the only things that conveyed his emotions, and he was glad that Viri couldn't see them. Glad that he couldn't see the fear and shock they were filled with. "I could f-feel it, Viri... the feeling of my organs beginning to disintegrate inside of me. My heart had just begun to collapse in on itself..." he paused as he clutched at his chest with his hand, continuing to breath heavily. "... if I were still in my other form... I... I..." Another blinding light, then Praze suddenly fell into something._

"_Shh..." Viri whispered, holding onto his brother. "Don't. No matter how you feel, what you do, what you don't do, you will still always be my little brother. So listen to me; you cannot continue like this. I have a feeling I know why you set this restriction upon yourself, but if you continue, you will die. I can't sit by and let you do that. You have about a week or two at most until your human body begins to deteriorate, and shortly after that your heart will collapse in on itself."_

_After that, there was silence until Viri let go of him and Praze stood turning around to face the ocean. He inhaled deeply before exhaling, closing his eyes for a moment to let it sink in. "I understand."_

_Then, nothing. Praze disappeared into a blue haze and Viri stood up, brushing himself off and looking at the large amount of blood that had appeared on the grass when Praze had thrashed about. "I know you understand," he muttered aloud. "Just don't disregard your understanding for the sake of honouring something that will kill you."_ _He then looked around, realising something. He quickly reconstructed back into his house only seconds before hearing a knock on the door. Letting out a sigh of relief, Viri quickly composed himself and walked over to the door. _

Viri sighed at the memory. _Things are a mess,_ he thought. He briefly wondered whether or not he should go to Praze and talk to him more about what had happened last night, but then dismissed the thought. The mental strain of such a restriction was probably the cause for him to be the emotionless and hindering version of himself that he was currently. Viri knew it would be best to just leave him. It was just a matter of time until Praze gave in.

* * *

As Toothless walked along the path through the forest outside the village with a look of vexation on his face, Gold trailed behind with the slightest of triumphant smirks upon her features. Eventually, Toothless sighed and let it go. He couldn't believe he'd somehow needed to give into someone's demands – and a stranger's at that! But, since he knew it would all work out in the end, he had no need to be in a negative mood. In fact, he was rather happy that the critically injured Night Fury was now safe and willing to give him information – possibly on the Decree – provided he'd given her enough information of their own. _She's got some sass about her, _he thought. _She's highly perceptive and has a sharp mind. That sort of combination can be hard to deal with..._ he paused as an image of Praze filled his mind. _I think she's just a tad bit more open and accommodating than he is, though._ He then stopped walking for a moment. _Okay, maybe a lot more. _

"What's wrong?" she called out, wondering why he had stopped so suddenly. "Also, where are we going?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he replied, continuing to walk. "We're heading to somewhere I can explain things easier."

"We're heading away from the village," she thought aloud.

"Yes, we are. To a place where I first came into intelligent contact with humans," he murmured. He smiled slightly, recognising the fauna in the area. "We're nearly there." Gold's features immediately showed a change of attentiveness as her curiosity began to seep through her seemingly neutral demeanour. Then, a smile threatened to show from the corners of her mouth and Toothless couldn't help but feel one growing himself when they finally reached the familiar small cliff that shortly descended into the cove, the small lake and meadow grass were as deep blue and light green as ever. Then the smile finally revealed itself. "This is it; the cove. A place to be reckoned with, it has held numerous moments of importance and significance. Be respectful," he added with a light smile, half serious, before he spread his wings and glided down to the grass below. Gold followed suit, stretching her own wings out before jumped off the ledge and landing next to him. However, as she did so, her eyes widened. She felt it. She could feel the aura emanating from within the sacred place where she stood. Toothless was not joking.

"I... I can feel it," she said. "This place has so many memories..." Her eyes seemed to shine with something as a grin widened on her face. Insatiable curiosity had begun to fill up her existence. "Please, tell me. How did humans and dragons first come about this alliance?" she asked, and Toothless smiled.

"Even though I'm kind of being forced to tell you all this, I'll tell you right now that I am happy to share," he replied.

* * *

And so time began to escape their grasp as Toothless told her of the multiple stories that spawned from the place they stood in. He told her of his meeting with Hiccup and the multiple discoveries the two had made. He told her how Berq first became a dragon-human zone in which they coexisted peacefully. He told her of the several competitions they had involving both dragons and humans, and of the close friendships all the dragons and humans had with one another. She listened earnestly to all of them, eager to soak up each and every word he spoke until eventually Toothless noticed the time. It was mid-morning already and he'd decided that they would have to get going if they were to make it to the next location before midday.

"Well, I think we should head to our next destination, yes?" he asked, and she nodded with a smile. He smiled in return as he spread his wings again and flew up to the ledge. She was about to follow when dark blue eyes appeared in front of her out of nowhere.

"_..., __come on. You're spacing out." She looked up and noticed her mentor and smiled. _

"_Sorry, Lilith. I seem to have lost myself."_

Gold shook her head before a realisation hit her; some of her memories had started to return. _Wasn't I with Lilith before I was poisoned? __If so... then-_

"Gold, are you alright?" Toothless called out from the ledge. Gold shook her head again to clear her thoughts before smiling.

"All good, I was thinking about something," she replied as she flew up next to him. "Now, where to next?" _In that memory, didn't Lilith say my name? I saw her lips move, but I heard nothing. Maybe my memories are still slightly fragmented. After all, I'm missing a few memories from in between what I just experienced and when I first met Lilith after... after what? Hmm... definitely missing a few key memories. Missing... __missing... missing. Was I __searching for something when I met Lilith? Maybe after chatting with Toothless more, I'll remember more. As for now, I think the detail in Toothless' stories __has been too meticulous__ to be false. I now severely doubt Berq has anything negative to do with the Decree; if anything they are enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend... and I keep getting this weird feeling emanating from Toothless. All my senses are telling me to trust him-_

"You must be thinking pretty hard to have not heard a word of what I just said," Toothless interrupted her train of thought, his face only inches from hers. Her eyes widened and she momentarily jumped back in shock, before laughing at her stupor.

"Indeed I was, I didn't hear a word," she mused with a slight grin. _If not sass, she's definitely __got cheek__, _Toothless thought with an inward chuckle. W_hat __was__ thinking so hard about?_

"Say, Gold, would you have happened to remember anything about your past?" he asked and Gold looked at him. She could feel something, something strong and powerful coming straight from the deepest depths of her very being. It took her a second to translate the feeling and wasn't surprised when she realised it was what she had been feeling all along _Trust him_. Maybe she was still deluded. Maybe she was still confused. But for once, she decided to follow that feeling. It just felt so right... she could not deny that her feelings made logical sense... even if they didn't. _How logical,_ she mused. She took a deep breath and sighed as she looked at him.

"My mentor. I remember my mentor and that she was with me before I was poisoned, and that, most likely, she's currently captive by the Decree," Gold told him. Toothless raised an eyebrow. He normally wasn't good at what he was about to do, but he decided it was probably the best course of action.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course, I'm not one to be troubled with things that are currently out of my control. Of course I now feel worry for her, but incessant worrying about it will do nothing but cause useless distress. Until I remember more, I can do nothing but wait," she replied solidly.

_That was easier than I expected._ "Good. Shall we continue to our next destination?" he asked her and she nodded. "Then let's go."

* * *

**A/N**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed. There's twice the amount of revelations in the second half, so stay psyched. I promise you won't have to wait too long for it, I would just like to make sure I have decided to go with a certain scenario instead of the others I have devised. **

**Thanks to:**

**Moonchaser the Night Fury**

**simba71999**

**King Tyras**

**Tess**

**Sosuke Tenki**

**QuiteARandomFan**

**LunerEclipsr**

**Sag1ttar1us**

**Guest**

**and mathmonkey167. **

**I appreciate the support and criticisms, please do continue. If you enjoy the story please follow it and consider favouriting it as it lets me know if you actually enjoy the story or not. (As, of course, out of over 24,000 views I've only received 294 reviews. What a terrible ratio. I don't mind, it's just that I would like to have a broader spectrum of opinions so I can improve.)**

**As always, have a good one and see you next time. **


	29. Part Two: Unravel (4)

**Part Two #4 Unravel**

* * *

The village marketplace was filled with people bustling about madly, carrying a multitude oddities with them as they scrambled from place to place. Not much trading or bargaining was going on, in fact, the marketplace had been halted.

"If this is a marketplace, shouldn't there be trading going on?" Gold asked as she watched the people moving about, noting the looks and gawks they were giving her.

"You're quite well informed," Toothless commented with a chuckle. "Actually, we're holding a festival tonight. It's called the Festival of the Moon, and it's to honour those who lost their lives in a terrible war three years ago."

"War?" she questioned, noting that Toothless hadn't told her about Berq's history yet, apart from when he'd first made contact with the humans.

"I'm getting to that, don't worry. First, let me tell you about Berq as a growing centrality for trading and overall general living. Basically, it's taken some time but Berq is now being known as a safe place to live with decent living conditions and little to no poverty. That has made the population bloom to monstrous proportions, now more than ever because they've finally begun to accept the peaceful coexistence between dragons and humans."

"I see..."

"Anyway, Berq has really grown into a mighty civilisation now and we've become the most prominent island country in the archipelago," Toothless continued. "I actually wish I could leave someday and travel a bit, possibly even go to the mainland-"

"How many Night Furies are there on Berq?" she asked, interrupting his ramble. Toothless sighed. _I guess she does have a right to know, being one herself. _The amount of Night Furies on Berq was one of Berq's greatest secrets – greatest _strategic_ secrets. It was agreed upon that the population would only know about two of them, as both Praze and Viri weren't really in sight of the people, leaving Toothless and Ace who were already known. Though, considering that Toothless was walking around with Gold in plain sight, he may have to rethink that.

"Four," he replied. "Five, if you count yourself." She then smirked, a hint of humour in her demeanour.

"My memory of last night is quite hazy, all I can really remember about those that were there is their eyes. I have no idea how old you all are or what the other three look like, but at least I have that. There would be you, Toothless, with green eyes. Ace, your mate, with purple eyes. Viri, with a green eye and a blue one. Then the last one whose name I don't know... the one with the blue-purple eyes that cured me," she told him, listing off all that she could remember. "You and your mate are... twenty... twenty-four? And Viri too?" she asked and he nodded his head.

"Correct. Those are, indeed, all the Night Furies that reside on Berq and Ace, Viri, and I are all twenty-four. The last one... he prefers to be left alone and doesn't really talk to anyone," Toothless sighed.

"So he's a male... what's his name?" she asked, but was surprised when Toothless shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but if you want to know that you'll have to ask him yourself. I hold a certain amount of respect for him and as such will respect his wishes to remain unknown to those he doesn't... uh, talk to," he replied, sighing as he did so. _Praze, why don't you just socialise? You're so difficult. _

"And I'm sure that respect will probably keep you from telling me his age and where he is, or anything about him for that matter, so I won't bother," she replied, a strange expression on her features of which Toothless took the liberty of asking about.

"Are you ok?" he asked, a slight look of amusement on his face. She was staring into space and suddenly stopped, turning to him as if she was startled.

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine..." she replied, her mouth curving into what appeared to be the most intensely curious grin Toothless had ever seen. "I... I'm just fascinated by everything. Dragon-human coexistence, festivals, wars, anti-social Night Furies. It's all just so... _intriguing!_" she exclaimed with a wide grin. "I can finally use my awesome detective skills, too. Once this is sorted I'm going to go find that other Night Fury and get him to talk." Toothless then chuckled. "What is it?"

"Oh, I doubt that," he mused. "You'd be surprised."

"Yeah and so would he, don't be so skeptical," she replied, a hint of humour but seriousness in her voice. It was strangely unnerving to Toothless, so he just waved it off and decided to think about it later.

"Anyway, let's get lunch first and then we'll head to our next destination so I can talk to you about the war. Sound good?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Lead the way, Mr. Skeptic."

* * *

Sun leaked through the glass skylight on one side of the triangular wooden ceiling, causing a dappled light effect to take its place on the wall across from the bed. The sounds of unconsciousness slowly began to fade, however, and the occupant began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes to stare blankly at the wall, at the same time wondering why the sunlight had to be so annoying. _Go away, bring me rain clouds._ That was never going to work, and he knew it. All too well, after countless mornings spent similarly. The easiest fix was to just go to Amicus, but he strangely didn't feel like it whatsoever. _What do I want to do today? _It didn't take him too long to quickly jump out of bed and climb the stairs to the inside balcony, shutting the curtains firmly before slowly falling backwards off the railing and landing on his bed a few meters away. _Answer: Sleep. _Unfortunately for him, the second he snuggled back into the warmth of his bed he thought of the night before. Then he knew he wouldn't get any more sleep. There was no way he could stop his active mind now.

_Great. _

He knew that everyone would be preparing for the festival, so he wondered what Toothless was going to end up doing about Gold. He hadn't paid too much attention, even for the event that had occurred, so he had assumed she was about Toothless, Ace and Viri's age in her mid-twenties. He knew she was possibly dangerous, and that Toothless would know too, so he thought Toothless wouldn't want her around all the villagers during that time. _Maybe you can get a mate out of this, Viri, _Praze thought with an inward smirk. He also knew he would probably have to deal with what Viri talked about, also. _If only the perfect chance came along, then I won't have to waste all those years worth. _His eyes slowly widened. _No... wait... maybe it has come along? _He then quickly decided on something, trying to ignore the cringing feeling he got when he thought about what he was going to have to do. _I just need to be ninja... then everything will be fine._

He then shifted in his bed, moving his gaze to the bookshelf by the wall. _I should probably throw that journal in a fire, too. _The journal that Praze had written earlier was his first attempt at a devious plan that would probably never even come to light. Half of the information in it was fake, including Hiccup making loads of 'firearms' for the people when Ace's was the only one he ever had and ever would make. He also lied about Night Furies only being able to use their abilities and orient when in direct line of sight of a star, when it was completely not the case. They could orient and use their abilities anywhere. Also, he lied about the size of Berq. It was nowhere near forty kilometres, in fact, from the mountain in the centre of the island one could see almost all of Berq, which was only about twenty kilometres long. It was all part of his plan to let the Decree come into possession of the journal and ultimately give him room to devise a plan in any situation. However... that plan was really quite in its early stages. He really needed to revise the journal to make it as believable as possible, even being completely truthful in some parts such as when he spoke about Arc and Berq's population, trading, and defences.

_So much work, _Praze thought with a groan as he rolled out of bed slowly, falling onto the floor somewhat satisfyingly. He continued to remain there as he stared up at the ceiling, deciding that he really wanted a coffee. He slowly pulled himself off of the floor, brushing himself off as he stood. He took one step and froze. His breath hitched in his chest and his eyes widened before they drooped shut again and he slumped to the ground without a sound.

* * *

"Sated?"

"Of course, thank you. You know, Berq is quite a beautiful place," Gold mentioned as both she and Toothless strolled through the forest, the harsh midday sun rejected by the canopy above their heads.

"It is, though there is an island I've been to that is far more beautiful," Toothless replied. "However, let's not get off topic. I believe you were interested in our history?"

Gold nodded. "Indeed, if you could tell me then that would be great. I think I may be able to remember more, possibly, with any sort of new information. It worked before."

"Of course," Toothless smiled, realising he was looking forward to it. "Firstly, what do you remember about your mentor?" he asked, hoping that she would at least tell him that. She seemed to think for a moment, then smiled.

"I suppose you've earned that much. Fine, I'll tell you what I know so far, which isn't exactly a lot. I think I first found her when I was about thirteen or so, and I was looking for someone." _Yes, not something, someone. _"She trained me in a lot of things... I think... but... ok, I can't remember any more right now."

"Oh well, do you know if you've found them yet? I, myself, have lost someone. I haven't had any time to look for them, though," Toothless muttered. "I wouldn't even know where to start; I don't even remember anything about them, just a possibility of their existence."

"Oh?" Gold asked, turning to him. "A Night Fury, yes?" Toothless nodded. "I think I've been looking for one, too. How do you know who you're looking for, or whatever?"

"I think this Night Fury is my sister, but I can't be entirely sure as I lost my memories from some accident many years ago," Toothless replied.

"Really? Oh, wait, I'm getting something... maybe I'm in a similar situation to you?" she asked aloud as she struggled with her thoughts. "Maybe I was looking for my sister? No, that doesn't sound right. Brother? Maybe..." she trailed off, and Toothless could do nothing but stare at her.

"Would the name "Hannah" happen to mean anything to you?" he asked, his entire attention completely focused on this moment. She seemed to think for a moment before she turned back to him with a carefree smile.

"Maybe," she replied. "Why? Do you think I might be your sister?" she then asked and he shifted as if were shrugging. Gold then smiled as she turned and continued down the path, looking ahead. "Well, it's not entirely impossible," she added before stopping and turning to him again. "In fact, it seems quite tangible, even." Toothless' eyes widened.

"Wait, really? Have you remembered something more?" Toothless asked with the slightest amount of enthusiasm in his voice, causing Gold to laugh lightly.

"No, not at all," she replied, turning away again. "It's just a feeling. Now, are you going to tell me about this war or not?" she asked in a slightly jesting manner. Toothless let out a sigh.

"Sure."

Toothless had to put his enthusiasm aside to tell her about the war that happened three years ago against the merciless Drago Bludvist. He began with the discovery of the dragon hunters' base and told her about their leader, Drago, before continuing and telling her about Hiccup and his' capture by Valka's hands. As well as the Alpha Bewilderbeast at the nest there, whom regained over all the dragons there. He continued, despite the cringing feeling he got when he thought about it, and told her about the attack on the nest by Drago and the Alpha Bewilderbeast's death by Drago's Alpha Bewilderbeast. Then, the brief war on Berq that ended with Toothless' triumph over Drago's Bewilderbeast and his new Alpha status over all the dragons on Berq.

"So, up to this point, you were the only Night Fury on Berq?" Gold asked and Toothless nodded.

"Yes. Now, can you fly?" he asked. "No more questions?"

"Nope. Oh, that reminds me. I do need to see if can can fly, but my wings do feel normal," she replied as she flexed them, looking over them critically as she did so. "Why?"

"Because, we're going up there," Toothless replied, pointing with his tailfin to a break in the canopy, where the mountain at the centre of the island stood, large and proud. _Yes, the mountain. We should be able to get a great view of the island from there. _Mt. Astral, as it was known to those on Berq. _A suitable name,_ Toothless thought.

"Oh, I see," Gold replied with a smile, stretching her wings out slightly. "Sounds good, but when is this festival being held?" she asked and at the same time Toothless noticed.

"It's ok, it'll probably be dark when we get to the top but the festival doesn't _really_ start until later on, then I'll have to go help," Toothless replied as he looked at the setting sun. "Also, there are some spectacular things that Hiccup has made using Zippleback gas, and you'll not want to miss it. So, we won't be too long."

"Alright, then let's get going," she replied as she shot into the air, leaving Toothless surprised at her speed. _Maybe all female Night Furies are super fast, _he thought but quickly dismissed it. _Nah, no one's faster than Praze. And he still hasn't had his spinal fins extended. _He quickly realised that Gold was waiting for him in the sky, and rushed to join her. "Lead the way," she told him with a smile and Toothless noted her fine flying form. _No wonder she's so fast_.

"Alright," he replied with a smile.

* * *

The marketplace was teeming with rushing people all dashing about with agendas all correlating to the festival. Many were preparing their stalls for people who would be sure to spend more money than usual, thanks to the occasion. Many foreigners had arrived and plenty of empty ships were in the bay; their captains and passengers having hired out the several inns and taverns to the brim as the townspeople madly got everything ready. The island thrived and profited well from the various festivals they held, but the Festival of the Moon was easily the most popular.

_Most profitable, indeed,_ Hiccup thought. _These festivals help Berq flourish in our trades, markets and entertainment. It is a time of good company and cherished memories-_

"Hiccup, can you please come and help out instead of gazing off into the distance?" Astrid's voice cut through his thoughts. He turned to look at her and smiled weakly, one hand scratching the back of his head and the other holding firmly onto the ring in his pocket. _The perfect chance,_ he thought as he left the window and walked over to where Valka, Astrid and Ace were all helping out with things for the festival and resumed what he had been doing.

"Are you feeling any better, Ace?" he asked and she turned to him.

"Oh, yes. I think I've gone into heat is all," she replied with a light chuckle, continuing as if she hadn't said anything of the sort.

"Uh... ok, if you say so," Hiccup replied, albeit somewhat awkwardly, before smiling. "Does this mean we'll have little Night Furies running around soon?" he jested.

"Not likely," Ace replied shortly and Hiccup shook his head as if _he_ hadn't said anything of the sort. "Night Furies are more like humans than other dragons when it comes to amount. There's usually only one. So, in answer to the core of the question... there might be... one." She then gave him a cheeky grin and he rolled his eyes.

"Can you ever just be direct? Especially when it's something like this?" he asked.

"Not likely," she repeated.

* * *

"Woah..."

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Toothless asked.

"It's amazing, you really can see everything up here!" Gold replied as she looked at the village from where she stood; the tallest point on the mountain. There was the slightest small area of flatness at the top, which was where the two had landed and were surveying from. The air was incredibly thin, also, which made it hard for humans and most dragons to breath up there but not for Night Furies; the binary vascular systems were specifically for thin air as it could draw out every last bit of oxygen so they didn't have to gasp for breath.

"Well, of course," Toothless commented. "But the best part is definitely... sundown," he added, turning to the village where the sun had begun to descend below the blue horizon of water. Gold's eyes widened in awe as she watched the light reflect off the water, before she turned around to look at the other half of the island that normally wasn't viewable because of the mountain. The mountain was central only width-wise, majority of the island rested on the other side where the Cove and other forest was. Praze's house was also there on the opposite coast, but it wasn't viewable from the top of the mountain. Only if you knew exactly where to look, but even then the forest got in the way.

"Wow... it's absolutely incredible. All of it. Berq is such an amazing place!" she exclaimed with a slight laugh before something caught her eye. "Hey, that wouldn't happen to be where that anti-social Night Fury lives, right?" she asked, point into the distance with her tailfin. Toothless followed it to see nothing but trees – very small trees at that. The distance they were at wouldn't merit any distinguishable feature, yet she had somehow picked out exactly where his house was. S_he must have incredible eyesight,_ Toothless commented. _But still, Praze, you do need to learn to talk to others. I won't tell her, but I not going to deny it either._

"Maybe. I guess you'll just have to check it out sometime," he told her with a light smile before he realised something. "Oh, I just realised. The sun's gone down now, so I have to go and help with the organising so you probably won't see me until later on. If you would like, you can explore the island a bit and the village just make sure you don't interrupt others' jobs. Okay? Also, remember to come and enjoy the festival. You won't want to miss the highlight of the night."

"Of course," she replied with another smile. "I'm just going to rest up here and try and clear my thoughts a little or a while, thanks for everything. Hopefully I'll be able to remember something useful," she added as he nodded and took off. She sighed, muttering her next words aloud. However, she did not expect the accompaniment of a voice inside her head when she did.

"If only everything were as intriguing as this."

_If only everything were as intriguing as this._

Her eyes widened and all of a sudden everything was drowned out by an unimaginably high-pitched sound and images began to form in front of her, a burning pain in her head as they did. _Is this... my memories r-returning? _She couldn't think any more; the pain was becoming unbearable and she felt as if she were losing consciousness but she held on, watching the images flow in front of her. _Visual synapses._ She watched as a man with a large grin filled her vision, then suddenly there were thousands of dragons chained up in cells, another man, this time time big and burly with a metal arm, silver leaves spilled along the ground, a large pit in the centre of of a massive cave-like area, and the image of a man with white hair covered in blood. Then, suddenly, the ringing in her ears stopped, and everything became clear.

_Kill him._

* * *

The knock on the door alerted Hiccup to someone outside but Ace had stood up before the person could even knock, knowing the only person it could be.

"Finally showed up, eh?" Ace asked as she opened the door to see Toothless standing there, his green eyes lighting up when he saw her. They both then smiled as they leaned forward and embraced.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked as he leant back, giving her a quick kiss before Hiccup called out from the centre of the room.

"Doesn't it feel weird when you two do that? I mean, it's not exactly how dragons display affection," he said with a slight smile.

"Oh? And you would know how dragons display affection, wouldn't you? It feels just as natural when we're in this form compared to how we display affection normally," Toothless replied.

"Pretty much sums it up," Ace joined in with a smile before she jumped face-first onto the couch and Toothless and Hiccup both sighed.

"How many times do we have to ask you not to do that?" they both asked at the same time and Ace laughed.

"I can't help it! It's just so nice," Ace replied with a chuckle. "I've just got too much energy."

"Would you like to give some to me then?" Toothless asked and she looked at him. "I'm really worn down from showing Gold around today."

"Sure," she replied, delighting in the fact that she could actually do so as she noted what he said. "Did you find anything out?" she asked as she grabbed his hand, feeling a little energy leave her.

"Ooh – oh, yes, she told me that she could remember something about her mentor, and that she was looking for someone before she had met them," Toothless said, feeling that slight shock he always did when Ace used her ability.

"Oh really?" she asked as she sat down on the couch with Toothless following suit. "Do tell."

"Well, she said her mentor's name was Lilith and that she was with her before she was poisoned, and we also found out that she very well could be my sister," he told her and her eyes widened.

"Really?! Wow, I never even thought about it but now that I am, you're right," she replied before she remembered what else Toothless had said. "Wait... you said Lilith, right?" she asked and he nodded his head. "That name sparks in my memory..." she trailed off, thinking hard. "Oh yeah, that's right. Didn't Viri say that name once before? I think... I think he used it when he was talking about his..." Ace trailed off as her eyes widened even further. Her breath was stuck in her throat as she realised several things at once. "But that would mean..."

"Oh my... you're right!" Toothless exclaimed as Hiccup looked over to them, unaware of what the two had just possibly uncovered.

"Toothless, could you go and play with some of the kids outside? Make them play hide-and-seek or something? They're getting quite loud," he asked and Toothless looked at him before looking back to Ace and he sighed.

"I suppose we can all talk about this later, it might just be a coincidence," he told her as he got up and turned to Hiccup. "But why do _I_ have to go and play with them?"

"You haven't done any work yet," Hiccup replied. "Besides, don't you want to practice a bit?"

Toothless' brow rose. "Practice what?" he asked as Ace jumped up pushed him toward the door.

"Come on, go practice," she smiled and gave him a wink as she opened the door and shoved him out. He turned around, at the same time realising what they were implying.

"H-Hey!" he exclaimed, only to have the door shut on his heated face, hearing chuckles coming from the other side. He shrugged as he sighed, turning away as he did so. "Exactly what sort of practice can one get when dealing with human children?" he muttered to himself. _Perhaps baby Night Furies are the same as them – except the ability to fly a breathe fire possibly differentiating them._

* * *

The sound of metal clanging against metal resounded throughout the forge as a tall, lean woman walked through the entrance. Her long, flowing black hair was tinted orange in the firelight as she walked around, inspecting several weapons until eventually her presence was noticed. The sounds of metal against metal dropped as a middle-aged man walked over to the counter.

"Like what you see, missy?" he asked, a flirtatious smirk across his features as he watched her pick up a large dagger. He could see it wasn't anything special, and was surprised. He expected her to go for one of the more decorative items on display. "Say, on this fine night of the festival, I'm free if you want to have an... _enjoyable_ evening," he added, chuckling as he did so. He was met with silence as she took one look over the blade and turned back to him. His smile dropped and was instantly replaced with a look of boredom. "Does that suit your needs?" he asked, completely devoid of his previous enthusiasm. She held up the blade and grinned, the type of grin that could only have been described as manic, and the man received no warning for the stinging sensation on his neck. He seemed to look about in confusion from the woman to the blade covered with red before he fell to the ground with a gurgled cry for help, blood seeping from the slit in his neck.

"I do believe so," she muttered, her voice clearly facetious.

_Humans are pathetic._

* * *

In the marketplace, the beginnings of the festival was bringing sights, sounds and smells to those on Berq. Shop owners had set up stalls filled with souvenirs and trinkets and some traders had even brought ashore their products in an attempt to turn a profit. Some innkeepers had even set up food stalls, selling food from their in-house restaurants. Many new ideas had begun to be implemented thanks to the festivals Berq held – it gave a breathing space for entrepreneurs from across the seas to try and make a living, at the same time adding to the quality of life on Berq. It was amazing just how large a town Berq had become in only a few short years. But then again, what with seafaring and port becoming more and more popular, Berq's location, along with all of the qualities and benefits of Berq itself, has rapidly expanded its existence to many. Some whom were enjoying the festival in its entirety; mingling with the townspeople and enjoying the performances, tastes, sounds and exhilaration up close. Other, more privileged, foreigners were simply relaxing in the harbour on their boats, waiting for the 'main event' that was described to be unmissable.

One woman, who laid on her ship's deck with her eyes to the stars, wasn't so filled with excitement. In fact, she was rather worried. She had short brown hair, her blue eyes reflecting the stars above. She found it rather peaceful laying there, but she simply could not relax completely. Not with what she'd gone through.

_I'll get you out, soon, _she thought. _As soon as the festival is over I cannot delay any longer. Your fate is in my hands and I simply cannot bear it. _She then turned over on her side and curled up slightly, a deep sigh leaving her. _Hopefully this Chief will understand. They have two Night Furies so if anything they might know about the Decree... I just hope this 'Dragon Master' isn't stubborn. I have spoken on several occasions to those men, Hakuryuu and Hiccup, but I can't believe I haven't seen the Chief. If anything, at least I can have a word with the Night Furies if things don't go my way. _

* * *

Toothless sighed as he stood in front of the few young Vikings in front of him. _Now's not the time to complain,_ he thought.

As the echoes of the festival began to reach him, he noticed that the wind had picked up and the trees had begun to sway lightly. He was by the forest in front of Hiccup's house, and quite easily noticed the two forms leave the house. It seemed that Hiccup and Astrid had finished with Hiccup's invention, and the two were getting ready to begin the main event. He also noticed Valka had left, and Ace was walking towards him. "Hey," she called out, a smile on her face.

"Hey, Ace. I was just about to sort these kids out," Toothless replied with a grin, watching the kids grow afraid, thinking he was going to punish them for being loud and annoying in front of the Chief's house. "By playing some hide-and-seek," he added, and the concern visibly left the children's face, with a few of them laughing.

"Well, sounds like you're having fun. When you're done, do you want to meet up by the harbour, say, on top of the hill? Then we can watch Hiccup's invention from there. He even said it himself; that spot is the best," Ace replied. He nodded.

"Alright, go on ahead, I'll catch up," he told her and she nodded.

"Okay, don't be late. Hiccup said he'll be starting in about an hour." With that, Ace walked off down the hill and Toothless turned back to the children.

"You've got ten seconds to run away, so go hide!" Toothless exclaimed, and was responded to with laughter and the sounds of screams as kids all ran off in different directions. He then closed his eyes, covering them with his hands. "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five..."

* * *

Behind the tree she was hiding behind, she could hear the sounds of the children messing around with a mature voice speaking out over them all, telling them to calm down. _How obnoxious, _she thought, then she hear footsteps coming towards them.

"Hey." The woman moved around the tree lightly, trying to look at the eyes of the female newcomer.

"Hey, Ace." _That confirms it, then,_ the woman thought to herself as she shut her eyes, and just focused all her thoughts down to one thing. She had absolutely no doubt in her mind that the man behind her was none other than the Night Fury Alpha of Berq; Toothless. The woman's amethyst eyes and name, as well as the man's emerald eyes and actions, were the only things she needed. She could have just remembered his voice, but she needed something else to be absolutely sure he was the one she killed. She then opened her eyes, and began to perceive the world again, only one thing in her head. _Kill him. _

"Five..." She gently lifted her back off of the trunk she was leaning on and took a deep breath.

"Four..." Silently, she peered around the tree again to see Toothless with his hands over his eyes, facing away from her.

"Three..." She stepped out from the tree and walked around it out of the forest line, her steps and actions completely silent.

"Two..." Using her fingers, she flicked the dagger in her hand around so the blade was protruding out from the back of her hand.

"One..." Taking one more step towards him, she began to raise her arm above her head, aiming for where his heart would be. Then, she readied the muscles in her arm as she began to bring the sword down. "Here comes the beast of the sky, O cloudless skies be your downfall," he finished and the girl stopped and froze, time coming to a standstill as the voice played in her head, and the sight of a small Night Fury with a cheeky grin on its face began to fill her mind as those words played, but from such a younger voice. ..._one. Here comes the beast of the sky... _

* * *

A sharp clang alerted Toothless to something behind him and he jumped, turning at the same time and bringing himself into a defensive stance. "What are you-" he began but stopped as he saw the woman before him. He looked at the dagger on the ground, and back to the woman as he watched her chest and shoulders move ever so slightly, helping him notice the small sounds the were coming from her mouth which, in turn, helped him notice the tears that were dripping from her face. She was looking to the ground, her black hair covering her eyes. He moved forward, confused, as the woman looked up. He could see her more clearly, and noticed she was quite young before he noticed her eyes and his eyes widened. "G-Gold...?" Toothless called out, tentatively, unsure of what he was saying. He looked into her eyes and could only stare at the amount of emotions that were flooding through them.

"Y-Yeah... I guess it was pretty ingenious of me," the girl muttered as she wiped her eyes. "I was pretty smart, wasn't I? I guess it doesn't matter now. I'm not surprised you don't remember," she said, before stopping. "That's not the important thing here. Silva, I need you to restrain me, right now, I can only hold on for so long..." she muttered as she held her arm with the other, her fingers beginning to twitch.

"W-Why...? Y-You can... orient?" Toothless could only mutter. He was so confused, but something was causing him to tremble until, suddenly, Gold stopped her own trembling and her face turned blank as she casually walked towards the dagger and picked it up. Toothless froze. She grinned. The next few moments seemed to go slow as she surged towards him and the dagger was thrust towards his chest. _W-What!? _Toothless thought but he couldn't do anything, his body was frozen. He was about to scream out until suddenly there was the slightest disturbance in the air near him and someone appeared, reaching an arm out to jab their hand into Gold's side with an extreme amount of speed, causing time to resume and Gold's limp body to fall to the ground. Toothless looked up to see the face of Viri, questions all over his lips.

"What... was that..." he muttered, staring at Gold's body on the ground as Toothless got up and just stood there, trying to come to terms with what had just occurred.

"I-I... I think t-that was... Gold..." he mumbled, his body suddenly cold. He looked down, hoping not to see a blade sticking out of his chest and was relieved to see that he was completely fine. He then took a deep breath and finally regained his senses. "We need to restrain her, and quickly, before she wakes up."

"Alright, where?" Viri asked as he bent down and picked up Gold's lifeless form. Toothless then turned, looked at Hiccup's dark house.

"Hiccup's. Everyone has left already, we can deal with her there."

* * *

After a few moments of becoming conscious, Gold opened her eyes to the sight of the interior of a house and the ropes that had securely bound her to the chair she was in. Her face was blank, and as soon as she saw him her eyes didn't leave the man with the green eyes. _Kill him. _

"Oh, you're awake?" Viri asked as he turned to her, and Toothless followed only to be met by her gaze.

"Gold?" he asked. She remained silent. Viri then turned to Toothless.

"Silva, I think... I think the extent of her poisoning was more severe than I thought. After what you've just told me, and with how she's acting right now, there's no doubt," Viri said as she looked at Gold. "It's Ma Huang. A non-lethal silvery leaf that, when prepared properly, can produce a state in which any individual is highly susceptible to suggestion. In other words, mind-control." Toothless' eyes widened as he looked between the two of them, and decided to ask.

"Then why didn't she kill me? If she had been conditioned to kill me, why did she hesitate when I had my back turned? Why did she start crying?"

Viri paused for a moment to think before answering. "Well... I think she was still under the effect of the other poison – the _nerium oleander_. She may have regained her memory," he replied.

"Wait... so it snapped her out of the Ma Huang, or whatever, and she was able to speak as herself? Why didn't it last?" Toothless asked.

"There must have been some pretty strong emotions in her head for that to have even worked, like, something must have happened. Can you think of anything?"

"Well... she said she was looking for something..." _Maybe I was looking for my sister? No, that doesn't sound right. __Brother? Maybe... _Toothless' eyes widened. _Wait, if she found her brother... then maybe... maybe she is my sister! _"Gold..." Toothless called out, and moved slightly, as if she understood. But her gaze remained on him.

"..."

"What do you want?" Toothless asked.

"..."

"Okay... why did you hesitate and start crying when you could have easily killed me?"

"..."

"This is going nowhere... why don't I cure her so she can tell us herself?" Viri asked as he stepped back.

"Wow... why did I even bother start trying to talk to her when you could have already healed her?" Toothless asked, shoving his head into his palm. However, he laughed anyway. "Seriously, Viri..."

"... Viri..." Toothless and Viri stopped and turned to Gold, who had suddenly spoken. "Viri... son of Lilith and Shiro... Reconstruction... _eligible_._.._" They both froze.

"W-Wha... w-what...?" Viri's words were stagnant and filled with stupor. He couldn't even comprehend what was happening, even more so when Gold's eyes began to glow. Then, she disappeared, leaving behind a blue haze. The ropes that had held her became slack and fell onto the chair as they turned behind them, finding Gold standing there, her body twisting into a combat stance. Toothless eye's widened. "She... reconstructed... no. She... used my ability! She has _peripheralisation_!" Viri exclaimed as Gold suddenly accelerated towards Toothless.

"Crap!" Toothless yelled as he dodged a fist, falling into the wall. "Wha-" he couldn't complete his exclamation when Gold's next punch barely missed his head, burying itself into the stone wall. Toothless looked up at it and his eyes widened. _She cracked a stone wall with her fist! My head was there! _He quickly jumped up and dodged another fist as he noticed Viri standing there, watching dumbly. "_VIRI!_" Toothless yelled out, snapping him out of his trance. "Make the cure – NOW!" Suddenly Viri sprang into action, knowing he could leave it in Toothless' hands.

It took him a few seconds, but Toothless knew what he had to do. He quickly jumped back, placing his hands on the sword on his waist as he drew it. Gold didn't seem to take too much note to it, thinking he wouldn't use it, and ran towards him at full speed again. _I'm sorry,_ Toothless thought as he twisted the grip in his hands, turning the blade so that the blunt edge was facing forward. In seconds, Gold had reached him. In seconds, she was on the floor.

Toothless sighed in relief as he sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had expected the fight to have gone on longer, but then again. Gold wasn't exactly right in the head. _And the Decree did this to her... _His eyes then widened as he remember. _What if she is my sister? I just knocked her out, quite violently, by hitting her, quite hard, in the head with a sword. _

"Done!" Viri exclaimed as he rushed over to where Gold laid on the floor. He'd reconstructed to his house to get supplies but, fortunately, the cure was simple enough to make and didn't take too long. Viri slowly leaned down and poured a liquid into her mouth, lifting her head up to allow the liquid to go down her throat. Then, it was done. All they had to do was wait. But Toothless... his head began to burn.

"Toothless..." Viri began, his hands beginning to tremble. "She said-"

"I know, Viri... I was speaking to her about it before she... clicked. She said that her mentor's name was Lilith... which would mean-"

"My mother is alive... possibly my father, too."

"Another thing too..." Toothless trailed off as he noticed the blood on Gold's knuckles, presumably from when she punched the wall.

"Yes?"

"There's no doubt about it. She's my sister. I remember."

* * *

**A/N**

**Well... a few of you saw it coming. Love how we already had some "Graze" shippers even though they haven't even met yet. You might have to call it "Hraze." ;)**

**A lot of things happened this chapter, I hope you all remember it all. Now it's finally come to the point where your brain starts turning to mush ;)**

**Thanks to;**

**Colinou**

**Moonchaser the Night Fury**

**Tess**

**simba71999**

**Sag1ttar1us**

**King Tyras**

**QuiteARandomFan**

**Padfoot**

**Phsyro**

**mathmonkey167**

**and aaronbrogdale08.**

**Hope you all enjoyed, please leave a review with your thoughts.**


	30. Part Two: Awakening (5)

**Part Two - #5 Awakening**

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**I made a comment on all the reviews from last chapter, so be sure to not skip past the A/N at the bottom. There's also something interesting there, too, if you want to participate :)**

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Slowly and gently, the sounds of shuffled movement began to fill Viri and Toothless' ears. Gold, or whoever she was, was waking up. "_Water..._" a croaky voice whispered.

"I-I'll get some," Viri quickly responded, jumping up and briskly walking away as she slowly lifted herself off of the ground with a groan.

"Silva, you hit me in the head with a sword, you ass," she muttered and she rubbed her temple where the dull edge of the blade had struck her.

"Sorry, Han. To be fair, you _were _trying to kill me. You shattered a stone wall," Toothless replied, chuckling weakly.

"Yeah, I shattered my wrist doing so, too. Also, I thought I told you _not_ to call me that?" she asked, a dangerous, yet humorous glare washing over Toothless as the hint of a smirk appeared in the corner of her lips.

"Hey, my head's pretty messed up. I've lost my memories twice now, and only regained the last lot of them less than five minutes ago. I've been sitting here just trying to comprehend it all," Toothless replied with a sigh, closing his eyes once more as many things filled his head again.

"At least all of _yours_ have returned," she shot back, dropping her head into hands, letting out some kind of mangled sigh as she did so. Toothless was about to reply before Viri came back in with a mug.

"So, you're Hannah, right?" he asked as she looked up, and he handed the mug to her and watched her drink earnestly from it. "I first met Silva over ten years ago – or was it fifteen now? I can't remember. Anyway, he had a terrible head injury and was spouting nonsense when he washed up on the shores of an island near here. One of the things he'd mentioned was talking about some sister of his but he could never remember..."

"That'd be me, yes. Of the memories I have regained, that one stands out the most..." she trailed off, looking at Toothless as she did so.

"When I fell off the cliff, right?" he asked, and she nodded. He then turned to Viri, who was understanding now what had happened. "It was just Hannah and I after our parents... passed away... actually... I'm having a bit of trouble dealing with this sudden – yet not sudden – realisation..." he trailed off, taking a deep breath in. "Sorry, I've already dealt with this, it's just..."

"I get it, Silva. Don't worry about it, continue if you want," Viri replied, his eyes the same as always. Full of understanding and compassion. Toothless nodded and sighed again before continuing.

"Anyway, long story short, I fell off a cliff and hit my head, but that's all I remember," he told them and Hannah perked up.

"I could only watch you float away, unfortunately..." she said, a bothered expression on her face. "Such a young and knowledge-lacking hatchling I was... I was too scared to try and go after you. I was left alone on our island, but not long after that someone found me."

"Your mentor?" Toothless asked but she shook her head.

"No, Lilith didn't become my teacher until many years after; I was taken in by an old female Skrill for a few years before I set out to find you, Silva," Hannah replied. "Well, when I say it was a few years... it was more like ten. I was three when I lost you, Silva, and after finally setting out to find you – _that_ was when I ran into Lilith and Shiro." After finishing that last sentence Hannah turned to Viri, who she had noticed – as soon as she mentioned Lilith's name – was dying to ask her millions of questions. "Ok, firstly Viri, you need to calm down," she told him with a laugh.

"Just _tell me_ already!" he exclaimed, a little more harshly than he had intended, before settling back down again and apologising. "Last I heard-" but suddenly he stopped himself, looking away slightly as he fervently thought in his head. He seemed to come to a decision and looked to Hannah again. "L-Last I hear, they were still leading our little conglomeration of dragons... how are they?" At this point, Toothless turned to him and cocked his head slightly, trying to understand why Viri had lied. Viri then briefly looked at him, his eyes conveying what he was thinking. _"I'll tell you __later, go with it__."_

"Well, I don't know a good way to tell you this so I'll just say it straight: your entire pack was killed."

It was like a repeat of the scene that unfolded nearly three years ago; when Praze first told Viri about what happened. Toothless was now more confused at why Viri would pretend to act as if it were such a shock, and as if he cared for his pack even though he knew exactly what had happened. Viri had widened his eyes, asking why, when, how, all questions he knew the answers to.

_Viri is a good actor..._ Toothless thought as he watched it happen. _But why is he doing this? Why is he acting as if he didn't know? Just what is he planning, and why is he hiding this from Hannah? She's definitely her, and Viri knows that too, it just makes me all the much more curious as to why he's doing this..._

After Viri's _"outburst_" finally subsided, Hannah began to answer. "I know this will sound strange to start with, but believe me it all relates. Firstly, is that Lilith told me that when you left, they had an egg, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Viri replied. "What of it?"

"Well, your sibling was male, making him your younger brother. Now that you know this, I can tell you what happened." Hannah then took a deep breath, preparing to tell Viri what she thought would be startling news. "One day, your colony or pack, whatever you would call it, staged a coup d'état against your parents, drugging them and putting them in a cave on an island not too far away from the island. Lilith was going to kill them for their disrespectful and dishonourable actions, but Shiro reminded her that they had your brother, who was twelve at the time. He told her that they would probably be able to sort it all out peacefully.

"So, they waited. They waited for a member of the colony to return so they could negotiate. But... they never came. After so long, Lilith told Shiro that she wasn't going to wait any longer, and decided to return. That was when they found out they were all dead and your brother was nowhere to be seen. The complex fighting style Shiro had taught him, and of course you as well, Viri, and now _me, _was easily recognisable. Your brother had killed all of them, every last one."

Viri then sat back and pondered on what she had just told him. _Yes, that would make sense. After what Praze has told me, from his perspective and because of the stupidity of Treeth acting like they had killed them, I can say that I would have reacted exactly the same way, he_ thought. _But I am still worried-_

"However, I'm guessing you don't really understand exactly the magnitude of this matter, Viri," Hannah told him, interrupting his thoughts.

"How so?" he asked, confused as to why she would make such a claim. "Also, I was wondering whether or not you know his name. Would you be able to tell me?"

"Unfortunately I don't know. And that's not because of my memory loss, either. Lilith never told me, so I never asked. And to answer your other question, when you left at seven years of age, still quite fresh in all your forms of training in Lilith and Shiro's opinion, exactly how many dragons were in your parents' care?" she asked, catching Viri off guard. He wasn't expecting such a question, especially regarding what they were talking about. But the same couldn't be said for Toothless, for that matter. In fact, he had caught on as to exactly what Hannah was about to tell Viri, and it pained him when he realised the effect it was going to have on his friend.

"I don't really remember, maybe fifty, or seventy-ish?" Viri replied.

"That's what I thought..." Hannah trailed off, sighing somewhat sadly.

"Why?" Viri asked, suddenly fearing what she would say.

"Didn't you ever think that the colony would ever gain any more members?"

And there is was. Viri did not want to hear any more of it, but he knew he needed to. So when he spoke again, his voice had unconsciously dimmed to such a point he was almost whispering. "We were never a large pack and during the time I grew up there we only gained ten or so members... I don't expect there to have ever been many more than the amount we had when I left."

"Around the time when you left, was also about the same time that humans began expand across the seas, colonising and settling on island that dragons had called their homes. Fearing for their lives, such dragons searched for a new, _safe_ home... and that was when your pack began to grow..." Hannah then stopped for a moment, knowing that Viri knew where she was going as soon as his head began to drop to stare down at his feet, his hair covering his eyes. Hannah almost regretted having to tell him, but she knew she had to. "...until there was more than eight hundred dragons in your pack."

Toothless' eyes had widened, and quickly regained his composure before Hannah could notice. However, his heart began to pound painfully, and he began to feel a cold sadness creep over him. Both for Viri... and for Praze. Over the years, neither himself nor Viri had asked Praze how many. He also finally understood why Viri had acted as he did; pretending as if he didn't know what happened or that he actually knew Praze and what he did. But, for Viri, that pain was now intensely multiplied more than before. In his mind, Toothless sadly went through what happened.

After it was made clear that his parents were still alive, Viri realised that Praze had killed all of their colony for killing his parents – something they hadn't done. That kind of guilt... Viri didn't want Praze to find it out. Viri acted as if Praze weren't his brother to protect him from that. However, it dealt a large blow to Viri because he already felt as if he were responsible for what happened to Shiro and Lilith for not being there with Praze, and now that the number Praze had killed had jumped from around fifty to eight hundred, it had punched a large hole in him. After all... Toothless knew that Viri cared for Praze very much. He knew that, in Viri's mind, Praze absolutely could _not_ find out. However, what Viri did next really surprised him.

"Wow... that's just terrible. But Shiro and Lilith are both alive, right? Where are they now?" he asked, and in a completely normal tone of voice. Toothless could detect no form of his inner turmoil in his speech – which was something Viri really wasn't known for. _He's trying really hard for him..._ Toothless thought. _I've got to try my best, too._

"Ah, yes, of course," Hannah continued, acknowledging that Viri had "dealt" with what she had just told him. "Now, I still have a little bit of memory loss, so I can't answer everything, but I will give it my best shot. So far, I have no idea where Shiro is, but I know that Lilith and I were together when they jumped us."

"They?" Toothless asked, joining in to help Viri out.

"Come on, keep up," she jested, that cheeky smirk Toothless had noted on '_Gold_' earlier making a return. "They've got special things specifically for Night Furies. Anyway, the locked her up and then they took me and..." but suddenly she stopped. Her eyes began to widen slightly, and her shoulders slowly dropped as her enthusiasm completely drained from her entire being. Then, she just... collapsed. Toothless' eyes widened but Viri stopped him rushing forward with one arm held out.

"Stop, she's fine. Both her head and her body have been through a lot, I imagine the Decree may have done some horrible things to her and it was just too much for her to remember right now. She just needs rest," Viri told him, and Toothless quickly calmed down, letting out a sigh, at the same time realising what Hannah being unconscious allowed.

Answers.

"I know why you lied," Toothless told him bluntly. Viri didn't bother to look at him.

"I'm sure you never asked him how many, either, Silva. He never told us. I suppose one wouldn't want to remember... but I feel that we should keep this from him," he said, finally turning to Toothless, the pain in his eyes easily distinguishable.

"You and I both know that Praze can deal with this information Viri, and if anything the joy from finding out that both of your parents are alive will far surpass anything negative," Toothless told him, and Viri sighed, knowing his friend was right. "Not that we'd probably even see the slightest hint of that from Praze... but anyway, on top of that, Hannah is going to try and find him. When she finds him, I'm certain he'll tell her to not bother him, but I know that she won't give in once she's found something interesting. Unfortunately I somehow managed to get her intrigued when she asked about him. From the night we found her, she'd only remembered all our eyes, and I never told her anything about him. Perhaps it's because I refused to that she became curious... that's one of Praze's plan's failing." With a short sigh, Toothless cut to the chase. "Viri, you need to be the one to tell him they're still alive."

For several moments there was silence, until Viri cleared his throat and spoke. "Ok, I'll do it tomorrow. In all honesty, all these revelations are making me want to find a hole to sit in for a while. I need to think for a while... I'm going home."

"Not going to watch the main event?" Toothless asked, the sounds of the festival reminding him of what was happening in town, with all oblivious to what had occurred that night.

"I can see the harbour from my house, I'll watch it from there," Viri replied as he stood, walking over to the door. "Goodnight, Silva."

"Goodnight, Viri," Toothless replied, and then there was silence as the door shut, and Toothless was left to himself – apart from Hannah's unconscious form in the middle of the floor. "Now, what am I going to do with you?" he asked aloud, but he already knew. He slowly walked over to her and picked her up, careful not to wake her as he did so, before he walked over to the door, opened it, and walked out into the night air. The door led out to the pavement and faced the harbour, but Toothless wasn't going that way. Instead, he turned and began to walk into the forest towards his and Ace's house. _I wonder if Hiccup will end up building a house for Hannah, too, _Toothless thought. _After all, he did build one for us all. That boy has too much time on his hands. No, that's not right. Hiccup's a man now. _After another five minutes of hiking through the bushes, Toothless walked into the smallest of clearings where the small log cabin resided.

It was smaller than Praze's house, with only having a living space with a kitchen and one bedroom. Praze's house had a living space, kitchen, bedroom and another spare room with nothing in it. _And he's the only one there... _Toothless rolled his eyes as he sighed. _Still, this all Ace and I need, and Praze did help Hiccup build his whereas Ace and I just let Hiccup do all the work on ours. __I guess he has his reasons._ Dismissing his thoughts, Toothless stepped up to the porch, opened the door, and walked inside. He gently walked into the centre of the room and laid Hannah down on one of the soft couches, grabbing a spare blanket and laying it over her with a smile. _A lot has happened, hasn't it Han? After so long, it's good to finally see you again... now rest._

* * *

_It's cold..._

As Ace sat there on the hill by herself, she let out a huff of impatience. _How long does it take to catch such young children?_ It's fair to say she was annoyed, but as soon as she heard familiar footsteps behind her it was replaced by relief. Oh, but she certainly wouldn't let him know that. "And just what exactly made you take so long?" she asked aloud, turning with a grin on her face. She was going to comment more, but as soon as she saw him her grin slowly faded. She could see it in his movements, in the mixed emotions she could feel emanating from him. "What happened?" she asked, and Toothless chuckled weakly.

"I see your intuition is as fine as ever," he commented as he sat down with his legs spread out and leaned back on his hands.

"Of course," she replied, her smile returning. "I'm certain it's one of my defining features," she laughed. "So, are you going to tell me..." she then slowly trailed off to lean into him, that devious smirk appearing on her face as she finished with a whisper, "... or do I have to force it out of you?"

With his face blank and staring ahead of him, Toothless used his hand to push her face away as a smile finally appeared and Ace could relax again. "Oh please, you and I both know how _that_ would go down," he replied with a laugh. "I was going to tell you anyway, so there's no need for your underhanded methods... as enjoyable as they may be." Ace stifled a laugh of her own when he said that.

"Okay, so what happened?" she asked.

"I recovered the last of my memories, and it turns out Gold was Hannah," he said, delighting in the shock that spread on Ace's face.

"Wow! This is great, isn't it? What happened? Where is she? When can I talk to her-"

"_Woah_! Calm down, Ace," Toothless replied with a laugh, stopping her before she got out of control. "She's resting, she's been through a lot... but for now I can tell you what happened. Will you be happy with that?" Slowly, Ace nodded. "Alright. Firstly, it happened just after I had finished counting – just after you had left. It turns out that Gold, whom Hannah was at the time, had recovered from the initial poisoning and succumbed to the other poison inside her – one that had made her susceptible to suggestion. The Decree had disguised it with the other poison; the Nerium Oleander that we cured her of when she first arrived. Viri thinks that as soon as she recovered some of her memories, the other poison – which he called Ma Huang – activated in her system and she had to follow one absolute command that had been drilled into her by the Decree."

"Which was?" Ace asked, remaining as calm as ever. Toothless smiled. He loved that calmness, the calmness that was able to remain intact even in the most chaotic of situations.

"To kill me. Unfortunately, I guess the Decree didn't exactly know that Hannah was my sister, otherwise I really would have died. You see, at the time she was about to kill me, she realised who I was, and was able to snap out of it for a short amount of time. It wasn't long, and I wasn't able to act swiftly enough before she fell back under the poison's spell, however. If it weren't for Viri, who saved me just in time, she would have stabbed me. So, Viri knocked her out and we tied her up in Hiccup's house and waited for her to wake. Unfortunately, when she did, she had one last trick. She has _peripheralisation_, you see, and was actually able to use Viri's reconstruction to set herself free, and then she proceeded to try and kill me again, which at that point I knocked her out and recovered the last of my memories, and then when she woke, albeit missing some of her memories, she was my little sister again. Well, not little anymore."

"This is all... wonderful, isn't it?" Ace asked, a broad smile on her face. She couldn't help it. After so many years of Toothless worrying whether or not Hannah had even existed, she was finally glad it had come to an end.

"It truly is. And we were right, Ace," he replied, looking out at the harbour again. She looked at him, puzzled, and Toothless answered before she could ask. "Their parents are alive."

"Praze and Viri's?"

"Yeah. And I know the course of action we are going to take, too."

"What are we going to do?" she asked, a smile appearing on her face again after processing everything he'd told her. Toothless then looked directly at her, and smiled.

"We're going to take care of the Decree, and rescue Lilith and Shiro-" however, he was cut off by the sound of a _pop_ from the harbour. The two of them then turned their heads to where it had come from before there was a loud _bang_ and a brilliant light of colour exploded in the dark sky. "Ah, Hiccup's _fireworks_," Toothless commented, and then there were many more that followed, all different colours and sizes, with many cheers coming from the excited crowd on shore.

"They're beautiful..." Ace trailed off, the light reflecting off of her widened amethyst eyes. Toothless turned to her, and smiled and the look of wonder on her face. It really seemed to quieten his soul from all that was going on and gave him a peace that made him feel absolutely wonderful. _She's always had this effect on me,_ Toothless thought with a smile.

"Aren't they just?" he said, continuing to look at her before eventually turning back to the sky. After a few more seconds, the burst of light stopped after a large finish and the sounds of cheers and claps were easily audible from within the town. Ace then turned back to him with a smile on her face, one that he reciprocated.

"Care to join the skies with me?" she asked as she stood, feeling the strain of sitting in one place for so long in her legs and lower back. She then stretched, letting out a sigh as she felt her body regaining its flexibility.

"Always," he replied as he also stood and stretched, following after her as they both walked off into the forest, white flashes hidden by the bushes and trees being the only warning to the two black masses shooting out from the canopy.

* * *

It was dark in the house, and after the claps of Hiccup's _fireworks_ had died down, the calming sounds of the waves crashing against the cliff were all that remained. Viri was grateful for this.

_So those were what Hiccup was so hyped about... I can see why, it was certainly quite the spectacle_, he thought as he stood there and sighed. He then slowly walked back inside from his balcony to downstairs, where he laid down – more so _fell onto_ – his bed, and let out another moan into his pillow. _This is becoming a common occurrence,_ Viri noted as he clutched tightly to it and shut his eyes. _How am I going to do this? Silva thinks I avoided asking for Praze's benefit... but I'm just selfish. Now... I have to pay for it and stand up to my mistakes... and ask that question that I have been dreading ever since the night Praze arrived here and told me of our colony's fate..._

Viri then clutched his pillow harder, feeling his hot tears soak into the fabric. _Hopefully not your fate as well... but now I have to ask him. I have to ask if he killed you too, a question that I cannot... avoid... any longer. _Then, slowly but surely, Viri's tears coaxed him into an uneasy sleep, tomorrow's looming dread giving him nothing but a restless night.

* * *

In another dark house, far away from all the commotion, Praze lay still in the dark. The echoing claps of the fireworks had reached the far side of Berq, and caused him to wake. They had passed some time ago, but he still laid on the ground as his _head_ began to wake.

"Sheesh..." he finally muttered, placing his hands on the cold floor as he pushed himself to his hands and knees with a groan. _I slept the day away, how convenient..._ Even his thoughts were rich in sarcasm. _But at least that won't happen again, at least not unless I don't fix myself. But don't worry, Viri, that's not going to happen,_ Praze thought as he finally stood and brushed himself off, turning to the wall where a lamp was fixed. He walked over to it and turned it on, a warm glow lighting the room as he walked over to the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, grabbed a small box and then walked over to the fireplace.

He then placed a stand over the fireplace and used what he'd grabbed from his kitchen to light the flame, before he walked over to his bookshelf, picked out the journal and threw it into the fire. He then watched as the fire slowly began to eat at it and knelt down to hold his hand out towards the flame. _It certainly would be much simpler __to light it myself, instead of using human devices, _he thought, the small box of flints he'd just used coming to mind. _I don't even remember the colour of it, _he thought as he extended his palm out towards the orange-yellow hue. _Soon..._

He then quickly snapped out of it and stood up, before he walked back to the kitchen to open a cupboard and pull out a ceramic pot, a stone bowl-like receptacle, and another hilt-shaped stone made of the same material. He put them on the bench one by one, before reaching to a small hessian sack and pouring a small handful of brown beans from it into the stone bowl. He then proceeded to use the other stone to grind the beans into finer shards and imagined what Viri would say to him if he were there. _"Don't drink coffee at night, it'll keep your body awake and you won't be able to sleep." _Praze let out a slight humorous huff at that. _I just slept the whole day, I don't think I'll get any sleep regardless. _

After he had ground the beans, which were some of the finest beans offered by the trade ships and grown in other countries, Praze grabbed the ceramic pot and walked out the side door in his kitchen to a large tank outside that was used for storing water. Fortunately, ever since Praze found out he could reconstruct with small materials on him, he had gathered water from Amicus and poured it into the tank. It took time, but it was definitely worth it. _Amicus' water tastes the best,_ he thought as he imagined the waterfall at the top of the mountain that had formed little under a year ago when the lake at the top of the mountain had overflowed after a series of large-scale rainstorms. The waterfall ran down the side of the mountain and into the river that ran through the centre of Amicus.

_What a paradise Amicus is, _Praze thought as a prideful smile threatened to show in the corner of his mouth. After he had filled the pot with water, he walked back inside and place the pot in its stand over the fire and began to clean up his kitchen. _A dragon that owns a kitchen. How puerile that must sound. _In no time, it was tidy and arranged, and just as Praze had finished he heard the whistle of steam come from the ceramic pot to tell him the water had boiled sufficiently. He then walked over to it, glad to not have to bother with gloves to deal with the heated pot, and picked it up, bringing it over to where the stone bowl sat with the ground beans inside of it. Setting the pot of boiling water down, Praze lifted its lid and gently poured the beans into the steaming liquid before replacing the lid and picking it up again. He gently sloshed the water around in the pot, getting the boiling water to mix with and bring out the flavour of the beans.

After several more moments of sloshing the water around, Praze began to pour the water into a mug. The specialised pot had a fine filter in the spout that kept the dregs and remnants of the beans in the pot, leaving only the coffee-infused water to enter the mug. He then walked outside once more before he tipped those remnants out onto the grass and dirt and walked back inside, placing the pot on the counter once more. He then picked up another small jar, this one containing sickly sweet honey, before he took out a spoonful and stirred it into the mug. With his coffee made, he walked over to where the lamp was, where there was a comfortable chair and small table next to it. Placing his mug on the table, Praze walked back over to his bookshelf and picked out the book he had recently been reading before sitting on the chair and opening it.

The cover read; "_Inherent Flaws in Humanity". _Much of the books he read were similar, as he preferred the more philosophical approach in his arduous search for knowledge about the world. Books written by "_scholars"_ of the "_new_ _age_". Of what he'd read, there were many topics including humans, theoretical works, biology, medicine, herbalism, as well as anything else that seemed somewhat interesting. If it expanded his knowledge, he would read it. He also found dragonology, the study of dragons, to be rather interesting. He'd come across some incredible things, too. The world was most definitely coming into a new age, one that was quickly filling in the blanks on the maps and making a world filled with seafaring connections. Praze read that dragons were everywhere – not just in the archipelago, which had come to know as the "barbaric archipelago".

Berq was even referenced in many books, also. Especially so in dragon books. Supposedly, after the defeat of the "false alpha" that had forced dragons to pillage Berq several years ago, when the news had spread, all around the world the people were taking a stand to fight those tyrannical alphas, even if it were a tyrannical Bewilderbeast, whilst at the same time welcoming any and all peaceful dragons. The world was at peace with dragons, which made Praze all the more interested in the Decree's motivations. There was no mention of Night Furies in any of the books he had read, and he was absolutely certain that their existence was being kept hidden. In some of the old theology books they had been referenced, but there was nothing in the newer texts.

Praze had been somewhat lacking in his view of the amount of Night Furies in the world, especially in how he'd thought, at some point, that there were only as many Night Furies as there were colours of their eyes – it was simply a coincidence that they'd never met one with the same colour eyes as any of the Night Furies on Berq. He didn't know exactly how many Night Furies there were in the world, but he had estimated there to be a least a hundred, if not hundreds or thousands. Many of them probably already knew of the existence of the Decree, as well as Night Fury abilities and secrets, and Praze was willing to bet that many of them hid in their human forms, simply living out peaceful and safe lives as humans. After all, that was pretty much what Praze, Viri, Ace, and Toothless were doing.

All of it made Praze think. Lately, there was never a time Praze wasn't thinking. There was always something in his head, something to keep him going. He constantly thought that one day he was going to leave Berq and travel. With whom and when, he hadn't a clue. He knew that was what Viri did – and when he was a whole decade younger than Praze was now – and Viri had grown plenty from the experience, so he says. However, Praze knew would join the fight soon enough. But for now...

Praze placed his book down on his lap and sipped from his coffee before he leaned his head back and let out a sigh, his eyes closed peacefully. _Well, I've kept my promise. "__One day, w__hen you finally meet him, don't tell him I exist. __Because o__ne day, I __am going to__ tell him myself."_

Praze smiled. He then opened his eyes again to look out the window at the stars.

_You will._

* * *

**A/N**

**It's a little late, but I hope you enjoyed. I have a request, though. In your review, I would like you to please answer the question below out of the choices provided, and I will tally all answers and put at in the end of the next chapter. I will hopefully be doing this for all future chapters to see people's opinions of things, and also to add a little more interesting things into the mix ;)**

**So far, of the following original characters, who would you say you like the most? (With a short explanation if you would like, but not required)**

**Ace, Praze, Viri, or Hannah?**

**(I will be asking the same question again a few more times in the future as I increase the amount of characters ;)) **

**Please leave your answer in the reviews and I will tally them up next chapter. **

**Thanks to:**

**Colinou – Are you sure about that? ;)**

**Tess – I agree, things are going to get complicated. I hope everyone can follow haha. **

**Phsyro – An interesting thought you have there, I guess we can only wait and see. And I believe I've shed enough light on Praze's condition for you to understand what is happening to him and his body. "Restriction set on himself" I.e. Something he can control. And just this chapter, "I don't even remember the colour of it" ;) And I'm not giving anything away or spoiling anything, I'm just letting you know and reiterating things that have been mentioned in the story.**

**Sag1ttar1us – You'll see him next chapter. **

**Retrokill – I agree!**

**QuiteARandomFan – I _always_ look forward to your reviews. You make plenty of good points and have an eye for detail. However, I must say, I was just hinting at Gold being Hannah by saying "Hraze". Who says they will end up together? What if I have other plans? What if they're just friends? You can never tell ;) Also, I hope you understand what's going on with Praze by now (everyone should, really) and if you don't, just look at my response to Phsyro's review.**

**mathmonkey167 – I don't think I really need to comment on your reviews, we speak often enough as it is xD**

**aaronbrogdale08 – Thank you! And there was the next update, hope you enjoyed :)**

**Well, that's it for this one. More things shall be revealed – YES THERE ARE SO MANY MORE REVELATIONS HOLY BALLS – in future chapters so stay keen! Have a good one.**


	31. Part Two: Intervention (6)

**Part Two - #6 Intervention**

* * *

**According to most, Praze is the most popular OC. I'll make sure he stops being boring. Oh look.**

* * *

The soft and lively sounds of the world, slowly filtering through the walls of the cabin, were what spurred heavy eyes to open. There were a few creaks as the wood framework of the chair strained under the weight of its occupier's shifting movements, and finally Praze became aware of his surroundings again. With a sigh of annoyance, Praze removed the closed book from his lap and placed it on the stool as he laid his head back. _I was just about to put the book away, but instead decided to shut my eyes for a second before I did. _He looked out the window. _And now it's about five hours later. _

Praze knew he had read for about three hours and had started roughly around the same time the same as Hiccup's fireworks, which had been scheduled for midnight. Give or take ten minutes. The colour of light outside told him where the sun was; at about roughly eight in the morning. After a few more seconds, Praze struggled to get out of the chair for a second before forcing himself upright, feeling a dreadful crick in his neck. _This insanely annoying and painful crick just doesn't seem to want to leave me,_ Praze thought to himself. In truth, he knew exactly what was behind it, and took measures accordingly to avoid making it any worse. Which he had _just_ ignored. _Serves me right,_ Praze thought. _It's so simple. Why can't I just _not_ fall asleep in that stupid chair?_ _Damn books and fatigue. I suppose I should go and make some-_

However Praze's thoughts were cut off by a knock at the door. _How odd. I don't recall expecting anyone... must be Viri. _After a few more seconds the voice confirmed it. "Praze, are you awake yet? It's kinda cold out here, can I come in?" Praze slowly walked up to the door and opened it, seeing Viri's familiar face with a somewhat awkward smile on it. "Hey Praze," Viri greeted him, the smile remaining as he walked inside.

"Hey Viri," Praze replied. He didn't bother asking what Viri had come for, knowing he'd get an answer anyway. "Did you sleep well?"

_No._

"Yeah, alright I guess," he told him. "Did you watch the fireworks?"

Praze shook his head. "I passed out yesterday morning, they woke me last night. I couldn't sleep so I read the rest of my last book, and fell asleep in that damn-awful chair again." Viri laughed lightly before he let out a sigh.

"Well, they were spectacular. You missed it, but I'm certain Hiccup will find another time to do it again," he said. "How are you feeling?"

Praze seemed to think for a moment before giving his answer. "Not good," he replied simply as Viri and he walked over to the table and chairs. He gestured to Viri to sit down, and he did, but before he could comment, Praze asked, "Coffee?" He nodded. "Can you please light the fire?"

"Sure," Viri replied with a smile, and clicked his fingers, not even looking at the fire that began to burn crimson.

"Showoff," Praze muttered with a smile, and Viri instantly felt so much more at ease. _Despite the two reasons why I'm here, that smile of yours is enough to brighten anyone's day,_ Viri thought. _And if I'd have said that out loud, my day would be infinitely darker. _

"Hey - you refused my offer to show you how to do it, not that you really had a choice, I realise, but still," he replied with a huff of laughter.

"Teach me then, right now," Praze said and Viri looked at him seriously.

"Unless you want to destroy your rather nice house, I would not recommend doing so right now," he told him.

"I'll only use a small amount," Praze argued, but the older brother was adamant.

"You've been charging your fire for nearly five years now, Praze," Viri said. "It's ripping your body apart and even if you could somehow release only a portion of it at a time, that small amount would easily be enough to level the entirety of this house." Praze was about to say something else, but Viri stopped him. "And what makes you think you'll be able to control your flame just like that? After not having used it? You might accidentally release all of it at once and set half of Berq on fire. No, I'm underestimating. Night Fury fire, charged for a day only, has enough power in its shockwave to blow a ten-metre hole in the ground. Who knows, what if fire, charged for five years, changes it explosive qualities, and instead becomes implosive? Forget about burning down all of the forests this side of Berq – this side of Berq would _cease to exist_, Praze." With that, Viri realised all of what he had just said and regretted it. _That was out of character of me... these current events have thrown my whole head into disarray,_ Viri thought but knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Praze, on the other hand, was wide-eyed as he stared at his brother in surprise. He hadn't expected such a rant from him, especially not after what he'd thought had been a normal question. However, he hadn't thought of one of the things Viri had said and it definitely made him regret asking.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for-"

"Don't apologise," Praze cut in and Viri looked up from his hands. "I shouldn't have continued asking, but I will need you to tell me the theoretical side to it so I can work it out when I need to... when we rescue Gold's mentor."

At the mention of '_Gold's mentor_', Viri stiffened. It couldn't wait any longer, otherwise he would end up bolting out the door. Well, reconstructing away. His resolve was hanging by a thread, and it wasn't going to last much longer. "Praze," he began in a different tone of voice, one that Praze would never have associated with his brother. Ever. Full of many emotions, but especially one: regret. "I didn't come here to talk to you about your condition, or why you stopped breathing any fire. Something, terrible, has come up. This _Gold_ is actually Silva's long lost sister, Hannah, but that's not the point here. The point is Hannah's mentor."

"What about her? She's a Night Fury, yeah?" Praze asked, his head racing. _So that's who Toothless and Ace argued about. A sister? She looked about mid-twenties, so older sister? Actually, I didn't pay much attention, so I have no idea how old she is. I really should have, but I was thinking way too much about the book I was reading then. Though what could be so terrible about her mentor?_

There was absolutely no easy way it could be said. There was only one way Viri could. "Praze... Hannah's mentor... is Lilith."

* * *

Hiccup stared at Toothless with an inquisitive glare. "Who is this?" he asked him, wondering why there was a stranger in his house.

"This, my friend, is who _Gold _truly is. Well, she's truly a Night Fury, but her name's not Gold. It's Hannah," Toothless grinned, watching the surprise unfold on Hiccup's face.

"Wait..." he trailed off as it dawned on him. "This is _the_ Hannah?" Toothless nodded. "The sister one?!" Toothless nodded again. "_Your_ sister one-"

"_Yes_!" he yelled with a laugh, and Hannah joined in.

"I've just been hearing a lot about you, Hiccup. Thank you for taking care of him," she replied with a smile.

"Oh?" Hiccup questioned, an eyebrow raised. "What about me?"

"Like how we became the Alpha and Chief," Toothless replied.

Hannah sighed as she stood and placed her arm on his shoulder and leaned onto him. "Which I am still having trouble believing, but not as much as Silva having a _mate_!" she exclaimed and Toothless rolled his eyes. "And especially one as amazing as Ace," she added, and Ace laughed at that.

"Why, thank you," she replied, her face cheerful at the banter.

"So," Hiccup began, "How did this happen?"

Toothless told him what had occurred the night before, and left his friend bewildered.

"Really? Man, the Decree are one nasty bunch – do we even know why they want to kill all you Night Furies?" he asked.

Toothless shook his head. "No idea. But, I have worked out a plan, which is unfortunately not going to work without the rest of Hannah's memories returning."

"Which is?" Hiccup asked.

"We're going to go in there and rescue them – but the location hasn't returned to Hannah's memories. I was hoping for her to describe what she can remember, so we can try to pinpoint where-" Suddenly there was an almighty crash that interrupted Toothless as the door slammed open. All eyes turned to the front of the house as a lithe woman with short brown hair and blue eyes, clad in black and thin leather armour, barged in. The hard expression on her face slowly changed to a softer, more surprised one when her eyes landed on Hiccup.

"Hiccup?" she asked, gathering herself as she walked over to where they were standing. It took a few moments for Hiccup to recognise who was in front of him, but then it came to him.

"You're... Arc? One of the traders?" he responded, and she nodded her head.

"Pardon the intrusion but I cannot wait any longer – I must speak with the chief immediately," she demanded and Hiccup turned to face her properly.

"Hakuryuu and I have already told you, the chief doesn't need to be involved with trade – he has enough to deal with on his own-"

"You didn't hear me?" she interrupted. "I need to speak with the chief regarding matters a simple advocate wouldn't understand," she replied, with little to no emotion in her voice. _Of course a chief needs to be involved in his trade! What kind of an idiot must he be, not caring for all aspects of his chiefdom? I may need to consult these Night Furies directly if I'm correct in the chief's impudence and ignorance._

Hiccup's brow hardened. "I completely agree with you, which is why I _am_, in fact, involved in all matters regarding my chiefdom," he said, his voice serious. It took her a second but Arc realised her mistake. _Of course, a chief that never shows himself. Why didn't I think of it? He must prefer his own company, and thus hasn't introduced himself properly to remain unnoticed. A smart move in these times, perhaps he is aware?_

Arc took a step back and bowed her head with her hand on her chest. "My apologies, Chief. I didn't realise, please forgive my ignorance," she said, sincerity in her voice. When she looked up, Hiccup waved his hand in acceptance.

"It's okay, Arc, it's my fault for choosing to be so secretive. What is it you needed to discuss?" he asked, his face showing his curiosity. She glanced briefly at the three by the table, and Hiccup understood what she had implied. "Anything you say can be said to them," he told her, and she smirked somewhat.

"They need to be able to hold their composure at what I'm about to say, can you guarantee that?" she asked.

"I have no doubt," Hiccup told her. "They're no strangers to the abnormal, and neither am I. Go ahead."

With a sigh, Arc closed her eyes briefly before she began. "You'll need to gather your Night Furies to tell them. But with the off chance you already know, I might just throw it out there right away. Have you heard of a movement known as the Decree?" she asked.

"Genocidal organisation, you mean?" Toothless cut in, standing from his chair as Hannah and Ace followed. "What about them? Are you with them, or against them?" he asked, causing a smile to appear on Arc's face.

"A dear friend of mine was murdered by them some time ago, a Night Fury by the name of Scarlet. She saved my life, and gave me the ability to speak with them. In answer to your question, I will not rest until every one of those scum are rotting in the dirt," she spat, disgust in her voice before she quickly calmed herself. "Would I be correct in assuming you know a lot about Night Furies, and can speak with them too?" she asked.

"Well, considering three out of four of us _are_, in fact, _Night Furies_, what would your guess be?" Hannah spoke up, a smirk in the corner of her mouth. _Very interesting... this 'Arc' may just be able to appease me for now... _

"Really? You all know how to orient, that makes my job easier. I thought there were only two? How many Night Furies are there on Berq?" she asked.

Hiccup had decided it had gone on long enough as he cleared his throat. "Arc, I'm afraid before we divulge any more information I'll have to ask you _why_ you are here?" he asked, and the trader sighed.

"My best friend and life companion, Yoshino, is currently their prisoner at the base we had infiltrated not far from here. I am here to ask your help to destroy the base and rescue him," she told him, and Hiccup decided.

"What kind of information did you manage to obtain?" he asked. "Are there any Night Furies at this base?"

Arc smiled at his excellent question. "Whilst we were there, we found there to be five, in total. Why do you ask?"

"Well, seeing as you only thought there were two, I guess I'll say that those two are Toothless, the Alpha, and Ace," he said, pointing to the both of them. "This is Hannah, she only just arrived here after being poisoned by the Decree when she washed up on our shores. She had been under some kind of mind control and had been tasked with killing Toothless. Fortunately, we managed to cure her, and we found out that her mentor had been captured as well. I'm wondering if this base is the same base Hannah was captured by?"

"Interesting... in fact, that _exact_ plan is what we had uncovered. If Yoshino hadn't had his ass captured we probably would have made it here to warn you before she arrived," Arc replied. "Of the five, there were three females and two males, with one of the males only a hatchling. I suppose that would bring the total down to four, considering Hannah is no longer there. So, what are your thoughts? Are you going to help me take out this base?" she asked.

Speaking up for the first time, Ace walked around the table to stand next to Toothless. "I think we should help them," she said. "This is what we've trained the past three years for, now it's finally time to take a stand against this horrendous group of abhorrent scum."

Toothless smiled. _Ace, the inspiring leader_. "I agree with her," he said, receiving a smile from Ace as he did.

Hiccup sighed before a smile also began to break on his face. "I would be happy to help, Arc. I suppose we should just get the rest of us over here?" he then asked, and Toothless nodded.

Hannah then spoke up. "I will help out as well, I have a duty to my teacher, as well as to my kin." The smile on her face was all Toothless needed to know to figure out what she was thinking. _I know you're serious and all, but right now you're way more keen to find out who Praze is, _Toothless thought as he mentally rolled his eyes. Then he smiled. _This should be interesting..._

"I'll fly over and get them," Toothless said as he walked over to the door, just to have Ace grab his arm.

"Are you sure that's a good idea right now?" she asked, remembering what he had told her last night. Then another thing popped into his head from that time, too. He smiled. What a weight lifted off his shoulders.

"Maybe you're right, but they still need to know about this, Ace," he told her, and she gave in.

"Alright, but tread carefully," she said, and Toothless nodded.

"I will," he said before he walked out the door. _I hope they're ok, _Ace thought.

"Now what?" Arc asked.

"Now we wait. But in the meantime, why don't you tell me more about this base?" Hiccup asked.

"Gladly-"

Suddenly there was _another _crash as the door came flying open once more. _I wonder if this is a frequent occurrence,_ Hannah thought with amusement.

After a split second of regaining from surprise, Hiccup turned to the new intruder. "Gobber? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"Ay' that be the truth, lad," Gobber replied, his face filled with horror. "My apprentice has been murdered!"

* * *

Praze was facing away from Viri, and the latter couldn't see his brother's face. It seemed like an eternity of silence before Viri spoke up. "Praze, I never realised how large our colony had grown... I'm sorry, this news m-must be v-very hard for you to b-bear," Viri said, his voice shaking and eyes tearing up. "You k-killed-"

"I knew."

Viri stopped. His eyes widened as he stared at Praze, who slowly turned around. "You _w-what_?"

"You thought I wouldn't have searched for their bodies?" Praze asked as he looked down. "When they didn't turn up, I realised, and I ran. At the time, I just couldn't deal with it..."

After Viri finally found his voice, he responded. "But... w-why would you run from Lilith and Shiro? They would understand; they would just be glad you were safe," he told him, and Praze allowed a light smile to touch his lips.

_I never said who I ran from. _"Shouldn't you be more mad at me, Viri? Or more concerned?" Praze suddenly asked. "In your eyes, I'm sure you see this as a mass murder of many innocent dragons, with your own younger brother as the murderer."

Viri closed his eyes tightly as he wiped the tears from them, before he coughed and let out a sigh. "To be honest, if a single one of those dragons were loyal to their fair and respectable leaders and told them of the coup d'état, all of this wouldn't have happened. None of them were innocent, Praze, but still. Don't you feel any regret for tainting your soul with the blood of so many?" Viri asked as he looked him in the eye.

"I don't remember killing them all, Viri. All I remember is killing Treeth and his daughter, everything else is gone from my mind," Praze told him, and Viri looked at him in confusion. "My mind had been taken over by anger and rage, and I suspect that it had been the first time I used reconstruction, or I would never have managed to kill them all." Praze took a second to go over to his counter and get the ceramic coffee pot out. "Fortunately I don't find myself thinking on it often, and when I do I always come to the same conclusion," he said, and he paused to look at Viri. "They never cared for mom and dad, even though mom and dad cared for them. So I didn't care for them and, as such, I don't find myself regretting what I did. After all, Night Furies of old used to hunt lesser species of dragons. We are superior to them all, Viri, it doesn't really matter to me if they die when they deserve it."

Viri sat there, shocked, before it finally made sense. _Praze... you're insane. And I don't blame you, if I only I had been there to set things right before you were... broken... _Viri then suddenly felt so cold, and so lifeless that he didn't even react to the coffee Praze had placed in front of him.

"You ok, Viri?" Praze asked before he smiled, and suddenly everything seemed to just realign and Viri came back to reality. _Even so, you're still my younger brother and I will always be there for you,_ he thought as he took the coffee.

"I'm fine now, Praze," Viri told him as he finally smiled again in return. "Are you really sure you're ok?" he then asked, and Praze chuckled.

"Of course. After all, we just found out for sure that our parents are alive," he responded, taking a sip from his coffee. "Say, did you ever notice anything peculiar about my egg?" he then asked, causing Viri to look at him funny.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, and Praze just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was just thinking, is all," he replied. "So? Anything peculiar?"

Viri then sighed as he racked his brain for an answer. "Well, I remember it looked like it was big enough to fit two hatchlings, believe it or not," he told him with a laugh.

"Yeah, funny that..." Praze trailed off with a sigh. "Well, shall we get a move on? Surely Toothless would have some sort of plan in his head right now? I think I'm done being boring-"

"Good, because Ace has just about had enough of it," a voice cut in from the door, and Viri and Praze turned to see Toothless walk in. "And I have too. Do you know what it has been like for someone like her to see you go from an enthusiastic and energetic young dragon into a cold and lifeless shadow?" he questioned, and Praze stood from the table with a sigh. _Damn_, Viri thought. _I'll have to wait until later to ask Praze, just when I'd worked up the courage to do so._

"Glad to see your optimism," Praze told him shortly as he invited him to sit down. "What are we going to do, especially now that we have a lead to the Decree?" he then asked as Toothless sat down. _Of course, straight to business,_ Viri thought.

"Firstly, Praze, I need to ask you this, as your friend," Toothless said as he took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Also, I'm glad you found your sister. Now, what's the plan?" he asked again.

Viri then spoke up before Toothless could. "He really is, everything's ok, Silva. Thanks, though," he said, and Toothless nodded.

"Alright then, I'll let you know. But not now, because we're gathering at Hiccup's house for a meeting. Someone has arrived with information on the Decree, and we need you both to attend. So, shall we head on over there now?" Toothless asked, and they both nodded. "Good."

"Wait, I've decided I don't want your sister to know who I am," Praze said, causing the other two to look at him funny.

Toothless was the first to respond. "What? Why?" he asked.

"From what Viri has told me, she doesn't know the name of Viri's 'younger brother'. I don't want her asking questions, please just don't let her know I'm your brother," Praze told Viri. _That's only half of the truth, because if she was taken in by Lilith... she would know. So why doesn't Viri know? Did she not tell him?_

"Alright," Viri spoke up, bringing Praze from his thoughts. Toothless then nodded in agreement.

"Ok, I'm sure you have a good reason for it," he said, and Praze smiled. _I very much do. It all depends on whether or not his sister knows, if I can keep my promise or not. _

"Good," he said as they turned to the door, just as a knock resounded from it. "Did you come with anyone else, Toothless?" he asked and Toothless shook his head.

"No, it must be Ace if they got here this fast though," Toothless replied as he walked over to the door. Praze on the other hand wasn't familiar with the presence he was sensing. Toothless and Viri both weren't always on alert like Praze was, so they weren't subconsciously trying to perceive others' presences like he was. So just as the door opened, the colour drained from him and he was surrounded by a thin purple haze and Viri turned his head slightly in surprise. That was what he looked like to those aware of him when he used his other ability. Toothless and Viri were already aware of Praze in that instance, so Praze couldn't alter his perception to make himself invisible to them. _Unfortunately, one of the very few flaws to perception evasion,_ Praze thought as he looked around his brother at the table to see who was at the door.

"Hannah?" Toothless asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

_Hannah? Toothless' sister... why is she here? How did she find this place? Did she follow his scent? _Praze thought rapidly as he slowly stood from his chair, careful not to make it move. If one were to notice anything Praze moved or touched whilst using perception evasion, they would be able to see him because in their mind there is no possible way for something to move on its own. Thus causing him to appear in their perception.

"Well," she responded as she walked inside. _Nice house_. "Trouble has come up. Someone was murdered last night and Hiccup wants you back there right away."

Toothless' shock was all over his face. "What? Who?"

"Some apprentice in a forge," she replied as Toothless noticed what Praze was doing. _Praze, that isn't going to work,_ he thought with a smirk.

"Well, we better get going then," he said as he motioned for Viri to stand from the table.

"She looks younger than I thought, how old is she?" Praze asked, and Viri turned and pointed to him, keeping his hand hidden from Hannah's view. "_My_ age? Wow, thought I didn't pay too much attention to her at the time. I thought she was a decade older than she is."

Suddenly the door slammed shut and Viri walked over to it and opened it to Toothless and Hannah outside. "What'd you shut the door for?" Toothless asked Hannah in confusion.

"I thought Viri would just reconstruct back," she replied as she looked directly at Praze. "It's a nice house, though," she said, and Praze realised she was looking through the door into the house and not at him.

"Alright, well let's go then. I'll fly back, will you just reconstruct there, Viri?" Toothless asked.

"I guess-" he began but Hannah interrupted him halfway through.

"Can you take me with you then? I'd rather not fly all the way back," she said, and Viri, Toothless, and Praze were all confused. "What?" she asked, looking at Toothless and Viri's confused faces. "You didn't know you can take others with you? It uses more energy but a night under the stars is all it takes for you to recharge. So how about it?"

"Well, I guess," Viri replied as Hannah stepped closer to him and quickly whispered into his ear.

"_Don't worry, I'll just use peripheralisation and use my own energy. Just make it look like you took me with you," _she whispered with a smile and Viri realised what she was doing.

"Meet you back at Hiccup's, Silva," Viri told him as he and Hannah vanished.

Which left Toothless and Praze, as the latter released his perception evasion. "I thought she was your age or older," he commented.

"Better not tell her that," Toothless told him with a smirk as he quickly oriented. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there," Praze told him as he turned grey again, the purple outline telling Toothless he was using his ability. Praze noticed the look he gave him and chuckled. "I just want to scope things out first," he told him, and Toothless smirked cheekily.

"More like you're embarrassed because there's a female Night Fury your age," he teased and Praze just shut his eyes and returned the cheeky smirk.

"Yeah, your sister? What exactly are you encouraging here, Toothless?" he replied with a light laugh and Toothless realised.

"You know that makes me quite happy, actually, and I can encourage what I want," Toothless told him as he took off, leaving Praze to stand there, his face blank.

"Not the reaction I anticipated," Praze muttered to nothing in particular. _Don't be stupid, Toothless. I've already told you multiple times that even if there were a female Night Fury my age it doesn't mean I would be interested. Though... _he trailed off his thoughts as he remembered all the mental notes he had made about her. _She is a very interesting individual, clearly highly perceptive and sharp. I guess I should talk to her at some point, find out what she knows._ Then, after quickly checking his perception evasion was active, he disappeared and reappeared outside Hiccup's house and jumped up to the balcony, climbed over and walked down the stairs to where Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber, another woman he didn't know, Viri, Ace, and Hannah were all gathered. He was careful not to make any noise as he walked down to the side of the room against the wall and began to observe.

"I came back last night after the main event, to find a dagger missing and my apprentice dead!" Gobber explained after Hiccup had asked him.

"Well, I'm very sorry Gobber but we have really important matters to deal with right now that concerns the fate of Berq, and unfortunately it will have to wait until later," Hiccup told him with a sadness in his voice. "For now you should close off the forge and keep this to yourself, thank you. You are dismissed." With that, Gobber understood and left the room with a tear in his eye. _What an unfortunate turn of events,_ Hiccup thought.

As they began speaking again, Praze zoned out. _There are a few too many people in this __room, _he thought as he shifted uncomfortably. _If we can pull this off... I'm going to have to start thinking about what I'm going to say, and what my plan is-_

"Silva isn't even here yet, you must be fast," a voice interrupted his thoughts as he turned to find Hannah, standing and watching the procession with a thoughtful expression on her face. _Was she talking to me? She can't see me... she can't even sense my existence right now. Who is she talking to? Herself? _He kept watching her as she slowly turned her head, and her eyes followed suit to reveal her glowing, golden eyes. "First you grossly overestimate my age after paying little to no attention to me, of which I don't know which is worse, and now you're ignoring me?" she asked in an annoyed tone, and he grew confused as he looked away. _What is she on about? Can she really- _after a second, Praze was interrupted by a fist jabbing into his side and his eyes widened. "I can see you, you ass!" she whispered furiously as he recoiled in shock, and Praze realised.

"Would have been great if Toothless and Viri had told me you had peripheralisation," he muttered as he rubbed his side with a huff of annoyance. _So that was what those smirks were for._ "I admit I had something on my mind that had distracted me-"

"But thinking someone _your own age_ is a decade older is just... it's... I don't even know," she interrupted as she shook her head, her eyes closed. Then she turned to him swiftly. "You can atone by introducing yourself, then I won't have to keep calling you Mr. Anti-Social Night Fury," she said, and Praze looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"You haven't called me that once, this is the first time I've spoken to you-"

"Who says I haven't called you that in my head? I've been thinking about who the flip you are ever since I woke up because Silva told me nothing about you," she said as she grinned widely. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the grin had disappeared, and hard eyes began to beat down on Praze. "Now spill. Who are you?"

Praze relaxed as he let out a huff of annoyance. "Aren't you an annoying one," he told her flatly, but before she could punch him again, the sound of someone walking down the steps made the both of them turn their heads. "Took your time," Praze commented but Toothless ignored him.

"Hey Han, hey Praze, glad you two are getting acquainted," he murmured as he walked past.

"Praze, eh?" Hannah questioned as she turned to him with a smirk on her face, only to find his head in his palm. _No reaction from her, good sign, _Praze thought.

"Shut it, blatherskite."

Her eyes went wide with lividity. "You can talk, misanthropist!" she retorted as she crossed her arms and turned back to the group. That was when she noticed most of them staring at her.

"Uh, Hannah? Who are you talking to?" Hiccup asked politely, completely confused at her outburst. "Also, Toothless, where's Praze? Shouldn't he be here by now?" After a few short seconds Praze reappeared.

"I'm here."

Hiccup blinked his eyes for a second as he shook his head, then he smiled. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Well, I guess we should get down to business then? Praze, and everyone else who doesn't know, this is Arc, one of Berq's best traders and now ally against the Decree. If you have any questions, feel free to ask her-"

"Where is the Decree's base? And to be sure, this isn't their main headquarters, right?" Praze interjected, and Arc looked him in the eye.

"An old nest near here, to which Hiccup told me must have been the nest he and the Alpha took out many years ago," she replied and Praze turned to Hiccup.

"There's a Decree base where Toothless and Viri were enslaved by the queen?" he asked. "How could you have not noticed?"

Hiccup sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. "We've never really had a reason to return there, not since we came to back to Berq after the defeat of the queen. Many dragons had made their home there, which makes me worry about what happened to them if the Decree had taken it over."

Suddenly, Hannah strode out from the side and walked towards the group. "If I may interject, I remember thousands upon thousands of dragons inside the mountain. They seemed chained, but now that I think, they weren't. After hearing the stories from Silva, I'm certain..." she then trailed off as she looked over to Toothless. "They were under a bewilderbeast's control. A single-tusked, bewilderbeast. And if what you've told me of Drago's appearance is true, then I'm afraid he's with the Decree."

* * *

**A/N**

**Interesting developments. **

**Results:**

**Misanthropist Praze: 5**

**Ace: 3**

**Viri: 1**

**I'm not really surprised Hannah didn't get any votes, because you've really not seen much of her yet. Yet. You did get to see some banter between her and Praze though, so maybe that entertained some of you.**

**So, some called Ace 'the sexual deviant' hahaha. I think everyone would agree to be honest.**

**Thanks to:**

**Tess – Thanks, and trust me when I say you'll learn to really like Hannah when I develop her more. **

**mathmonkey167 – Well, hopefully this chapter had some more plot progression for you.**

**Sag1ttar1us – You saw him, for a brief moment. Someone'll have to pay for making poor Gobber cry, now don't you think? Somehow I don't think Hiccup is going to let that one slide, I'm afraid. **

**King Tyras – Praze uses his empty room. Not a reference, but certainly a good point. **

**QuiteARandomFan – Now I see that I didn't realise how hard I'd made it, hahaha. I was talking about Praze's fire. Reconstruction doesn't harm the body, no matter how much it is used. It can surely use up one's energy but that's about it. Considering you're a 'Hraze' shipper then, I guess you might have enjoyed their banter? Maybe we'll get a more serious discussion between them later on...**

**Now, review! Let me know thou thoughts and opinions! For now I hope you enjoyed, and have a good one.**


	32. Part Two: Existentialism (7)

**Part Two - #7 Existentialism**

**I have another announcement at the end of this chapter, so be on the lookout.**

* * *

As Praze sat at his table, thinking, he let out a soft groan. _Why did it have to be today?_

It was a new day on Berq, and the meeting last night had finalised all plans. The next morning, Viri, Praze, Hannah, Toothless and Arc are to leave via Arc's ship to the old nest. There they will rescue Arc's partner; Yoshino, as well as the dragons held captive there. Including Lilith and the other three Night Furies.

_If Shiro wasn't caught with them, where must he be? And more importantly... who are the other three Night Furies, if he is not one of them? _Praze's scrutinising eyes narrowed further. _No... I know one other. _

In truth, Praze wasn't exactly looking forward to the whole plan. He was scared. So much so that he couldn't keep his heart from racing. _And of course, it had to be today of all days. _

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. _Two days in a row... what's the chances of it being Viri?_ Praze silently stood from the table before he walked over to the door, breathed in, and opened it. Less than a second after, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You. What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

"Is that any way to treat your guest?" Hannah replied with a smirk as she slipped past him into his house. "By the way, I didn't tell you yesterday, but you have a really nice house. Silva suggested I live here once this whole ordeal is over."

_Again, Toothless? _Praze asked himself as he rolled his eyes. However, at the mention of his name, a small amount of worry entered his mind. "How is he holding up, after the news last night?" Praze asked as he shut the door behind him.

"Ace calmed him down afterwards," she replied. "Wait, _woah_. You have a conscience?" she asked in mock disbelief and he let out a huff of exasperation.

"If that's all you came here for, I'll be asking you to leave," he told her but she just smiled.

"Oh, come on, where's the fun in that? I came over here to talk," she replied. "Besides, you still haven't introduced yourself yet, so don't think I'm letting you off the hook."

"Toothless already told you my name-"

"Doesn't count," she interrupted as she shook her head. "Introduce yourself." Praze sighed. _This is going nowhere,_ he thought.

"My name is Praze, happy?" he asked. She nodded.

"Hello, Praze, my name is Hannah, nice to meet you," she responded with a smile, and he raised an eyebrow. _Now what was the point in that?_

"What did you plan on talking to me about?" he asked, finding himself curious.

"Dunno," she replied shortly, and Praze's curiosity suddenly faded. "Something, I guess. I'm just interested in Berq and what goes on here. How often do you all orient? Do you fly much? What about training? Do you train in your human _and_ dragon-"

"Stop!" Praze exclaimed as he put his hand on his head. "You're giving me a headache. Stop asking so many questions at once, and what makes you think I'll answer any of them? You're seriously annoying, you know that?" he told her as he looked over at her, expecting to see a similar look of annoyance on her face. He was surprised at her grinning face.

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "And you know you're an inhibited anti-social misanthropist, right?" she asked, her grin twisting into a smirk.

"Yes," he replied. "Now you can leave."

She let out a huff of annoyance. "No fun," she muttered. "Anyway, I'm surprised a bit that I can feel my friend's presence from here. It's her birthday today, and I can feel it from here, which is odd. I guess we must be closer to the base than I thought. Oh well, look's like you've got a visitor now. We can chat later when you're a little more fun." Then she disappeared, and that cheeky grin burned into his memory. But there was only one thing replaying in his mind.

_I can't feel it from here, Hannah. _He then let out a sigh. _You were feeling it from me. I didn't suppress it enough, I'd better otherwise Viri and the others will pick it up._

_That's right,_ Praze then thought. _Eighteen today. _

"Praze, you there? I need to speak with you before we leave," a familiar voice drifted through the door.

"Come in," Praze called, and Viri's familiar face appeared when the door opened. "To what do I owe your presence for the second morning in a row?"

"Did you kill any?" Viri began suddenly, his eyes averting Praze's.

"Any... what?" Praze asked, concern filling his mind. He'd never seen Viri like this before. Fists clenched, eyes averted and teary, legs shaking slightly, breath ragged, and... _anger?_

"_Night_... _Furies_..."

"There was only ever one other Night Fury family besides ours, but Viri, if you're talking about who I think you are..." Praze trailed off as Viri finally looked at him. "I didn't kill her, she left after you did."

"Are you sure?" he asked, and Praze nodded. "What about her parents?"

"They're both dead," he replied as he looked down. "They both took part in the coup d'état, and, as I'm sure you know, they abused her, too."

Praze looked up again to be surprised at a smile for the second time that morning. Viri's. "Thank goodness," Viri said with a sigh as he breathed heavily. "That's a relief."

"You're not mad I killed her parents?" Praze asked and Viri looked at him.

"What? No," he replied quickly. "To be honest... at one point I even wanted to do it myself for the misery they put her through. I'm surprised our parents let them stay as long as they did."

"I never met her, so I didn't exactly see the extent of their abuse, but I heard about it all from Lilith. Shiro refused to talk about it. They never mentioned her name, though," Praze replied, his silent question probing Viri's head.

"Her name was Ennis," he muttered. "Although she hated it, it was really all her parents ever gave her. There was no love in that family. Her parents didn't even love each other, they just mated because they could. How pitifully disgusting," Viri spat. "Anyway, I'd rather not talk about this, it's just with all that has happened recently... I couldn't let that question keep killing me, I'm sure you understand," he added, calming himself.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Praze spoke up.

A moment of pause before Viri answered. "Yes."

"Well, Lilith told me she left about a month after you did, searching for you. I think that's a pretty good sign she loved you back," Praze told him, and Viri couldn't help but smile at that thought.

"Yeah... actually, I had a crazy thought that she might even be at this Decree base if they captured her," he said, causing Praze's brow to rise.

"She isn't," he told him, and Viri stared at him in confusion.

"What? How could you say that? It's entirely possible-"

"But it isn't," Praze cut him off with a sigh. "I'm sorry. Arc said there was three females and two males. Hannah and Lilith count as two, and the other one isn't her. Actually, Shiro wasn't even captured with them, so we don't even know the other two males. But I know that the other female isn't Ennis," Praze said, and Viri couldn't contain his anger.

"Shut up Praze! You don't know that for sure, how could you?" Viri yelled.

"You don't know what I know," Praze muttered.

"Tell me, then!" Viri yelled again and Praze narrowed his eyes at him.

"I can't," Praze told him sternly. "I wish I could Viri, but I have promises to keep. Trust me, when we rescue them all, you'll understand. But until then, can you just calm down?"

Silence ensued for a few moments until Viri finally let out a pent up breath and sighed. "I guess this is what I get for hoping," he muttered with a weak laugh as he put his hand into one of his pockets, pulled something out, and threw it to Praze. After he caught it, Praze looked at it. "I came around to give you that to sharpen your short sword, and because I couldn't ask you yesterday, I decided to ask you that question today and I kinda flipped out a bit. Sorry," he murmured, then turned for the door.

"Wait," Praze called out, and Viri turned around. _He deserves this much, at least._ "Tonight you'll be happy, Viri. You might be a little sad as well, but the happiness by far outweighs the happiness you'll feel. Keep that in mind."

Then, with a short smile, Viri opened the door and shut it behind him with a soft click. Praze let out a sigh as his head softly fell onto the table, and he stared at the stone in his hand as he unsheathed his short sword from his back and looked at the gleaming blade. _Actually, I haven't even used you since I last sharpened and cleaned you,_ Praze thought, sheathing it and placing the rock on the table. _Now, I may as well get ready to go now. _

He decided a change of clothes would be best, considering he may have to fight people inside the base. He needed something that would blend in well, as well as something that didn't restrict movement. Fortunately, he managed to score a few special items off of Arc before he returned home the night previous. A long-sleeved black shirt with an open neck and plenty of flexibility; black pants made of some sort of elastic material; and the best of them all: a mottled black cloak made of a thin wool and expertly crafted. _With this, I am truly a ninja,_ Praze thought with a ridiculously childish grin on his face. Well, he had a point. His stealth skills were the best out of all of the Night Furies on Berq, and his tactics were perfect.

After changing, Praze grabbed Shizukesa before unsheathing it and placing it aside as he opened the leather sheath. Grabbing a pot of a clear looking substance, Praze smeared a generous amount of it on both sides of the leather before sealing it again, sheathing the short sword soundlessly before tying it around his waist, with the hilt in perfect position for him to grab it with his right hand. It was short enough for it match perfectly to the wide of Praze's waist, at an angle, allowing the cloak to cover it without interference. The substance Praze has smeared the leather sheath with was actually a lubricant, and allowed easy and soundless unsheathing and sheathing of the sharp blade.

_All set,_ he thought. He was completely black, save for the white skin that appeared on his face and hands, and would easily be able to slip around in shadows without even the need to use perception evasion. _Wonderful._ He had to be careful about his use of reconstruction, otherwise Hannah would find out who he was. _Well, it won't matter later on once we finish our mission,_ he reasoned. Then he remembered what she'd said about her '_friend'. _

_I don't remember you being any 'friendlier' than me, _he thought before he walked out his door and disappeared.

* * *

"Damn you're a fast flyer," someone spoke up behind Praze. He didn't even bother turning.

"Quit stalking me."

"Stalking? We're all supposed to meet here when we're ready to go," Hannah replied with her seemingly trademarked grin. They were both outside the town, at an old dock where Arc would sail her ship to for them all to come aboard. "You certainly look ready, anti-social Ninja Fury."

"I thought you wanted me to introduce myself so you could stop calling me names," Praze muttered as he closed his eyes and lied down on the grass in front of the dock.

"Are you serious right now!?" she exclaimed. "That was probably the most incredible pun you've ever heard in your life..." she trailed off with a sigh. _I've made a better pun than that before,_ Praze thought.

"I don't care, the only time time you've ever called me my name was when I 'introduced' myself," he replied as he opened his eyes. "I know I'm ready but you look the exact same as before. You don't even have a weapon."

"I don't know how to use weapons," she told him. "I fight with my body, I also know a form of fighting to incapacitate using pressure points."

"So do I, but I can't be bothered expending the energy it takes to dodge weapons, so I use _this_ to _block_ and attack instead," Praze replied, lifting himself off the ground to a sitting position as he unsheathed his sword. Along it was strange markings, which Hannah found herself intrigued by as she crouched down to look at them.

シズケサ

"What does that mean?" she asked

"In that language the word is _shizukesa_, meaning serenity. It's the name of this particular short sword," he replied as he sheathed it, wondering why he was bothered to tell her this when he could be resting. "Now shush," he added as he laid down once more. "I'm getting as much rest as I can before we leave."

"Well then," Hannah muttered as she stood from her crouched position. "Quite being boring, Praze," she replied, and Praze opened one eye at the use of his name. "You've all the time on Arc's boat to rest, but I guess you're pretty stubborn so I'll leave you be. To be boring," she replied as she walked off through the forest towards the Village.

_I'm happy with that, _Praze thought as he looked up to the sky and placed one hand to his head, and saluted. _I salute those that expend great energy in their lives, _he thought with a yawn.

* * *

Inside the Haddock household, things were a bit more tense. Arc had left already to get her ship, which left Toothless and Viri who were inside with Hiccup and Ace. Ace was staying behind to make sure they at least have one Night Fury in case anything unexpected happens, to which Toothless found she wasn't exactly too happy about. She had wanted to come along as well, but volunteered to make it easier for them all. _Such a harmoniser,_ Toothless thought with a smile. "Don't worry," he told her. "Nothing bad is going to happen to us, we'll go in there and rescue them, then we'll come back and figure out our next step."

"I'm just worried if something unexpected happens and the Bewilderbeast steals your alpha status away from you," she replied.

"I doubt anything would happen that would make that a possibility," Toothless reassured. "I need to lose my will to be alpha for that to happen, and given all the variables I just don't think the likelihood of that happened is enough for me to worry about."

"Alright, just make sure everything goes to plan and be back here as soon as you can," she replied as Hiccup and Viri walked up to them.

"I'm all set," Viri said as Hiccup gave Toothless something.

"Take this for now, it may come in handy," Hiccup told him as Toothless looked down in his hand to find Hiccup's fire sword.

"Hiccup, you know I can't take this," Toothless objected, but Hiccup insisted.

"Hush now, be a good dragon and take the sword," Hiccup jested. "I'm not going to need it. Besides, I'll just be with Gobber trying to figure out what happened with his apprentice. You know I have plenty of things to protect myself with."

Toothless relented. "Alright then," he murmured as he tucked the hilt into his belt. "Well, I suppose we should head down now?" he then asked, and they all nodded.

After a short walk through the forest, the four of them arrived at the dock where Praze was still lying on the grass, his eyes closed in a light drowse.

"Wake up," Viri called out to him. No response. After a few short seconds Viri walked over to where he was lying, picked up a medium-sized rock, and dropped it onto him. Unsurprisingly, Praze caught the stone and let it slip out of his hands onto the grass beside him.

"Shush, Arc's not here yet," he replied as he rolled onto his side a curled up. "Hannah's off somewhere."

"I would _prefer_ to be called the _palindromic_ _pun_ _prestidigitator_," a voice called out from a nearby tree, and before long Hannah had jumped down and landed softly in the grass beside them. "I was just having a rest."

"You can actually sit still for more than two seconds... I'm impressed..." Praze called in a completely dull voice, still curled up on the grass.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I can actually enjoy solitude," she replied. "Unlike you, I am adept at both enjoying my time alone _and_ with others."

"Okay..." Praze's voice trailed off to silence.

"Well isn't this fun," Toothless commented before he noticed something. "Arc's ship is on its way here now." At that, everyone looked out to the sea. Praze continued to lie on his side, not bothering to look.

"Alrighty then, I wish you all the best," Hiccup replied as he walked away. "If anything happens, don't hesitate to send someone back for help and we'll come as fast as we can," he added before he disappeared into the trees.

"I suppose that's my cue," Ace said as Arc's ship expertly aligned itself alongside the dock. "Stay safe," she whispered in Toothless' ear, giving him a hug before turning and leaving.

"Well, are we ready?" Arc called out as she jumped off her ship, which was a rather decent size. It was about five metres wide and twenty metres long, and had two masts with flowing sets of sails on each. Without further hesitation, Viri, Toothless, Praze, and Hannah all jumped aboard, causing small waves to appear as the ship rocked slightly. "Now, the nest is about a day's voyage from here. Under the deck, there's the cargo hold, if you continue under that you'll find several rooms which you can use to rest. I'll be up here steering the ship, but if you don't want to rest you can stay up on deck. The sea breeze is rather nice, and you could climb up to the crow's nest if you would like. Feel free to spar, too, if you like. Yoshino and I spar all the time and the rocking deck is great for training balance. I don't have any rules but common sense, so be careful and have a relaxing voyage before the real shit goes down."

With that, she walked away and there was no sound but the sea and the wind. "Don't you need a crew to operate a rather large, two-masted, ship like this?" Viri asked. "I have my own craft which I had used to get around, but it was incredibly small and needed only one to operate its single sail. I'm having trouble comprehending how this works."

"Well, Viri, this ship is priceless and special," Arc began. "I don't want to bother with the details, but it was expertly crafted by the most advanced shipwrights in the world and operates on high-level mechanical engineering. Basically I can pull a lever, and the weighted mechanism operates the sails so that I don't need a crew. Yoshino and I are traders, and highly revered ones at that, and as such have many allies. These shipwrights built us the ship for us, as it is their prototype. We've had no problems and they receive excellent testing for future models."

"I see," Viri replied. "Do you two have any defences?" he then asked, and Arc smiled.

"Well, we have some secrets," she murmured with a smirk. "I'll just tell you that cannon fire won't work against this ship, and any marauders are quickly and effortlessly dealt with by Yoshino and I. I can't spar with you now, as I must steer the ship and have other things to do, but maybe you'll get to see some action later," she added, and walked off.

"Very interesting," Viri thought aloud as he rubbed his chin and looked up to the crow's nest. "I think I'll go up there," Viri murmured, and disappeared, reappearing up at the top with a large smile on his face at the view.

"Praze, want to spar?" Toothless' voice called out, and Praze stopped watching his brother as he shrugged.

"Dunno. I'm feeling pretty tired," he replied, yawning as testament. "It might be good to spar a little later, seeing as we haven't had any training for a month or so, but I think I'm going to have a lie-down," he murmured as he shuffled over to where the stairs were.

After watching him disappear down below deck, Toothless and Hannah looked at each other. "I'll spar with you," Hannah said to him. "I haven't done any since I was captured, it would definitely be a good idea to do so before we infiltrate the base."

"Alright," Toothless replied as he took his belt off, and placed his sword and Hiccup's fire sword down on the ground. He then looked out behind the stern of the ship, and was surprised to see just how far they now were from Berq. Arc noticed the look on his face and chuckled to herself.

"She's one of the fastest ships sailing on these waters," she called out, and Toothless looked up at her.

"She?" he questioned. "What's her name?"

"Lumen," she replied.

"Oh? An Ancient Dragonese word," Hannah commented and Toothless looked at her in confusion.

"You know Ancient Dragonese?" he asked.

"A bit. And what am I saying? I keep calling it Ancient Dragonese, but it's actually called Anima," Hannah replied, and Arc chimed in.

"Scarlet taught me what Lumen means. She knew a lot of Anima," she said. "Lumen means light."

"Oh, I see," Toothless replied. "Where did you learn Anima from?" he then asked Hannah.

"From Shiro," she replied. "He knows heaps. Now, are we going to spar or what?"

"Alright, let's go," Toothless replied, a determined grin on his face. "I won't go easy on you. I mean, I'm not going to hurt you, but I won't refrain from hitting you. Clear?"

"Crystal," she replied, a similar grin on her own as she got into a fighting stance. "I'm warning you; I can hold my own."

As Arc watched them get into it, the name kept replaying in her head. _Shiro..._ _I've heard that name before..._

* * *

Several hours passed and Berq was far behind. The sky was dark, and several lamps were all that lit up the deck of the boat, as well as the cargo hold and rooms. Viri was asleep in his room after he got tired of sitting up in the crow's nest trying to sleep, only to have the slightest wave move the mast like crazy. Toothless and Hannah were up on deck again, after having rested for a while after sparring. And Praze was finally in the world of the living again as he appeared by the stairwell, catching Toothless and Hannah's gaze.

"You've slept the whole day. Arc estimates we'll be there in about an hour or two if you still want to spar," Toothless suggested, and Hannah looked at her brother out of curiosity.

"After what I put you through? No, you can watch. I'll spar with Praze," she cut in before Praze could answer.

"Alright," Praze replied. "You won't have to worry about me hitting you, I'll just block," he added.

"What? How boring! Well, you won't last very long before I hit you, then you'll have to take me seriously," Hannah replied with a laugh, until she saw his face.

"I am taking you very seriously," he replied. He wasn't joking whatsoever.

"Han, none of us have ever landed a hit on Praze," Toothless commented and her eyes widened. "He's made up his own fighting style. When it comes to hand-to-hand fighting, no one can beat him. He predicts what move you'll make."

"Well then. Let's see if I can force a hit," she grinned and Praze rolled his eyes.

"Okay..." he murmured as he took his coat off and untied the belt his sword was on, laying them both down neatly. But before they could start, Toothless had a thought and spoke up.

"Say, Han, what do you think of Praze's eyes?" he asked, and Praze raised his eyebrow. _You're bringing that up now? _

"Well, if they weren't so _cold _I would say they're quite vibrant, and intriguing," she replied, and Praze sighed. _Happy now, Toothless?_

"They used to not be so cold, back about three years or so. They were a different colour back then, too," Toothless said, and Hannah's eyes widened as time seemed to freeze for her. _No... _she thought. _There's no way..._

"What colour eyes did you use to have?" she asked, trying her upmost to hide her shock and beating heart from them. "And how did they change?" she added, trying to make the question sound more natural.

"Well, they were pretty much the same as they are now, but the purple used to be orange," Praze replied. "You see, it happened when I was struck by lightning, and it burned a layer off..." But Hannah was no longer listening.

_I can't believe this..._ _is this really happening? _

"I don't feel very well, actually, I think I might be a little seasick, let's do this another time," Hannah blurted quickly as she ran to the front of the boat, where it was dark from the lack of lamps. Toothless and Praze just stood there in confusion, before Praze shrugged and picked up his coat and sword, and put them both back on.

"What was that about?" Toothless asked aloud and Praze shrugged.

"Dunno. I'll go ask her real quick. I'll see if she needs anything, why don't you go and ask Arc if she needs anything," Praze suggested as he walked towards the bow of the ship. _She knows. _

"Alright," Toothless replied as he walked up the stairs to where Arc was steering the ship.

Hannah turned at the sound of footsteps. "What's wrong, Praze?" she asked.

"I think I should be asking you the same question," he murmured as he leant on the railing. "Did you figure it out?" he asked, and she nodded.

"It makes sense, because there was no way I would have been be able to feel her presence from your house," she replied as she turned. "It was yours that I felt."

Praze turned so that he was leaning against the railing on his side and looked at her."I was mainly suppressing it to hide it from Viri and Ace, so I didn't bother hiding it as much when you showed up," he replied, before he looked out to the sea again. "Were you suspicious before?"

"I was, but Viri acted like he didn't know you, and he acted so well when I told him about, well..." she trailed off, leaving just the breeze to whistle in their ears.

"Most of his reaction was genuine, because I never told him how many," he replied. "After I learned about your circumstances, I told him to pretend like I wasn't his brother to avoid you asking incessant questions, which backfired anyway, because I needed to know if you knew."

"I do know," Hannah replied. "She made me promise the same thing, so don't worry, I'm not going to spoil it for Viri."

"Good, that was my main concern," Praze replied.

"I mean, the look on his face when he finds out that you-" but she was cut off by Praze's glare.

"You won't speak anything about this any more, are we clear?" he asked sternly, and she let out a huff of annoyance.

"Fine, but you really need to stop being so boring," she replied, to which he just sighed at. "You know, you two are a lot alike, which would make quite the sense."

"Really?" Praze asked. _That will be difficult to deal with. _"It _has_ been five years. We weren't very different before what happened, but I'm like I am now because of what I have experienced. I'm a little worried at what she may have gone through."

Hannah then sighed, and for the first time since he had met her, Praze saw a look of sadness on her face. "You can ask her."

He was about to respond, but before he could he heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Viri walking up to them.

"I heard you weren't feeling too well," he said as he walked up to the railing and leant on it also. "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, thanks," Hannah replied, masterfully covering any indication as to what she and Praze were just talking about.

_Two can play at that game._

"Actually, Hannah and I were just talking about whether or not all her memories have returned yet," Praze told him, the slightest amount of humour in his eyes.

_How's your improv? _

"Unfortunately, not all all of them have returned yet," she told Viri. "I remember most things, but there are some blank spaces that I've no idea what may be filled with. I guess only time will tell."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Viri replied. "At least a lot, if not most, have returned. Anyway, Arc just wanted me to tell you that she'll be turning all the lamps off in about five minutes to avoid being spotted when we arrive."

"Alright, thanks Viri," Praze replied as he watched him walk off. He turned back to Hannah, who was glaring at him. "What?" he questioned and she punched his arm.

"You know what!" she exclaimed in a hushed yell. "Anyway, she never told me your name. Neither did Lilith or Shiro unless I'm just not remembering correctly."

"Whether or not they did that for positive or negative reasons, I guess I'll be finding out soon," Praze replied.

"She'll be really happy to see you," Hannah said suddenly, and Praze turned to her. He was going to say something, but he decided against it when he noticed that fog had surrounded them.

"We're getting close," Toothless said as he walked up to them. "Feeling better Han?" he asked and she nodded. "Good, because you'll need to be when we land in a few minutes. Are you two both ready? Remember; follow Arc into the base where she'll lead us through it. Got it?"

They both nodded their heads and followed Toothless back to the main part of the deck, where Viri was waiting for them. From where they were standing, they could make out a massive structure.

"Would I be correct in assuming that would be the nest?" Praze asked, and Toothless nodded.

"Alright, we're coming up on shore now. I'll need two of you to get out to place anchors," Arc said, and Praze and Viri stepped forward and grabbed the two ropes she held out, before walking over to the railing near the front of the boat as it approached the shore. A few moments later, the softly grating sound of wood against sand became apparent and both Viri and Praze jumped out into the chilling water as they found two rocks to tie the rope to.

"All good," they both whispered back.

"Alright, let's go," Arc replied as she jumped out, and Hannah and Toothless both followed suit.

After a few moments they had trekked up the beach to where the large mountain began, before Arc turned to look at her ship. Since the fog was so thick, it blocked out the moonlight and made it virtually invisible. _Perfect_.

"So, where are we heading?" Viri whispered as the small group made their way up a few fallen rocks to where there was a cave, and they all quickly climbed up into it. Arc was about to reply, but before she could, her eyes widened surprise as she looked into the cave and found that they weren't alone.

After a few seconds of adjusting to the light, they could see into the pathway, which turned out to be quite long, and Toothless realised where they were. It was the long corridor that the Vikings of Berq had catapulted through when they first raided the island. It seemed that the Decree had made it more of an access shaft, but... at the end of the path there was a man standing there, seeming to be trying to open the door at the end.

But before any of them could blink an eye, he had disappeared. The only thing they heard, was the soft click of a flintlock pistol, pointed right at Arc's head, and the soft voice that followed it.

"If anyone moves, I will pull the trigger," the voice said. "You don't seem to be the usual grunts, who are you?" he then asked. However, before anyone could reply, Hannah's eyes had widened.

"S-Shiro?" she called out uncertainly, only to have white eyes train on her, confirming her suspicions. After a second, those white eyes began to widen.

"Hannah!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were caught with the others?" he asked, but she shook her head. "Well, that's good, you can help me get them out. Oh and, who are these people?" he asked, turning to look at them, finding them to be rather odd.

Arc seemed to have a look of understanding on her face, like she'd just figured something out. Viri and Praze were both frozen, and Hannah could have sworn they were made of stone. Toothless was staring at them all, just trying to comprehend what was happening before him.

"So you're _Shiro!_" Arc exclaimed in a whisper. "I knew that name was familiar, you're Scarlet's sister!"

"Wait... you must be Arc then! Where is your husband?" Shiro asked.

"Yoshino's currently locked up in _there_," Arc replied. "Partly why we're here."

"Oh, I see. How about we work together then?" Shiro then asked, and she agreed. "But who are these others?"

Toothless was the first to speak. "My name is Silva. I'm a Night Fury, and I'm the alpha of all the dragons on an island nearby known as Berq, you may have heard of it?" he asked, and Shiro nodded. "Also, Hannah is my sister."

"Oh really?" Shiro asked. "Wow, I'm glad you guys finally found each other," he said with a smile on his face. After a second it had disappeared, though. "I wish I could say the same about my family... anyway, I've been meaning to check Berq out recently. I've heard about the fortification and knew you must know something about the Decree."

"Yes, that would be thanks to my friend and Chief; Hiccup. He's done well," Toothless replied.

"Now, what about those two. They haven't said a word since I showed up," Shiro said. "Did I spook them?"

"Y-You could say that..." Viri muttered weakly.

"Are you two both Night Furies as well?" Shiro asked, and Viri nodded. His gaze was still averted. He knew the second Shiro looked in his eyes he would know.

_Stay... calm_ Viri thought. _All you have to do... is look_. With that thought in mind, Viri let out his pent up breath, and slowly lifted his head. "W-We're here to rescue all the Night Furies here, as well as Yoshino, and also to destroy this base," he said. After a few short moments, Viri looked him in the eye. "You may be able to say the same about your family, by the way."

"We're still missing one, actually, Viri," Shiro replied. "And I knew who you were the second I saw you. I'm rather happy you've learned how to orient, do you have any other new skills I should know about?"

"No, none to speak of," Viri replied, his heart pounding. "I can reconstruct, though."

Shiro smiled. "Fantastic! This should make this a whole lot easier. I'm sorry for be so awfully blunt, Viri, but we'll have to save the sentiment and reunion for later," he said, and Viri nodded. "But before we get going I'd like to know who the last member of your party is."

With that, all eyes turned to Praze, and to their surprise, he looked up. "Oh, so you don't know who I am the minute you saw me?" he asked, and Shiro was confused. "You aren't missing any."

Silence ensued as Shiro took the time to process just everything that was happening before him. After a few more moments, he gathered himself. "Why did you leave?"

"Do you really have to ask that?" Praze asked, and after a few moments, he walked forward. "I thought we were going to deal with the _sentiment_ and _reunion_ later. I think we should continue before we get spotted," he said as he continued walking down the corridor. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Shiro looked down and smiled. Then he disappeared and reappeared in front of Praze, who looked at him in confusion. Then he noticed Shiro opening his arms.

"Come here!" he exclaimed with a grin as he grabbed Praze and pulled the unsuspecting Night Fury into a hug. Praze's eyes widened, but it was too late.

"Dad! Let go of me!" he yelled in embarrassment, becoming only too aware at the laughter he heard coming from Viri.

"You'll get yours!" Shiro exclaimed as he let go of Praze and reappeared in front of Viri, and the older brother's laughter faded instantly as he was caught in the same embrace.

Arc, Toothless and Hannah couldn't help but smile at the reunion as a flustered Praze slowly lifted himself to his feet.

"We should really be getting a move on," he called out to them in his same, flat voice, but there was no denying the redness on his cheeks.

* * *

**A/N**

**A lot of stuff happened this chapter! Various character reveals... oooooh...**

**Alright, so, the announcement: On my profile I have added a list of the characters in DtN with a bunch of info so go have a look at that if you feel you need to remember anything ;)**

**Thanks to:**

**Sag1ttar1us - Gobber will have his time, don't you worry.**

**mathmoneky167 - Ackshuuuunn wooooooo! There was some ackshun there. I could have showed the sparring but decided against it. I'll save it for later ;)**

**QuiteARandomFan - I think you'll enjoy what I have in store for Drago and the Bewilderbeast. granted, things happen first, but my am I keen for it. Maybe you've figured out who this 'she' is that Hannah and Praze talked about. Since you already believe in 'Hraze', this person surely can't be a mate... right? And you're in the right mindset for what might happen when Praze goes ham on the Decree hahaha. And I guess we'll see what happens concerning Hannah and the murder of Gobber's apprentice. And I'm liking your mindset for Hannah and Praze, too. Keep it up and you just may be rewarded. **

**Spirit of Fury - I believe I've already answered all of these questions in my PM, but thank you nonetheless.**

**Skyress1 - Hraze shippers woo!**

**Thanks everyone, now be keen for the next update! Please leave your thoughts and opinions in a review below as it would be much appreciated!**


	33. Part Two: Reconciliation (8)

**Part Two - #8 Reconciliation**

* * *

Silence. Absolute silence.

Not a single sound was made as the group of six crept through the dark halls of the mountain, swiftly taking out the several lonely guards one by one.

At first, Praze had drawn his blade when they approached the first one, but Shiro had stopped him with words that had stung.

_Don't you think you've killed enough, Praze?_

Of course, he'd responded, asking if it mattered if the guards were killed, but Shiro had told him there was no need to. Praze had let out a sigh. _How could I have not seen this coming,_ he'd thought with a smile. Knowing the mercy and compassion his father had possessed to form that colony so many years ago, Praze really wasn't surprised with Shiro's actions. So Praze gave in and, using his reconstruction in tandem with his knowledge of pressure points, knocked out the guards instead, with Shiro and Viri following suit. He found himself uncomfortable at the smile that radiated from Shiro afterwards, even as they continued throughout the deserted halls.

"Where are they all?" Hannah whispered in their hiding spot; a small cave in the side of one of the hallways. The sounds of the ocean could only just be heard, the empty sound of a slight wind being the only thing connecting them all with reality outside.

"They're probably in the mess hall, eating and conversing," Arc replied as she closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "This is a small base; not much goes on here."

Praze looked at the faces of those surrounding him, for some reason looking at him for answers. "We could probably avoid them altogether," he chimed in, hoping the staring would cease. "If we split up into groups, we should be able to find everyone we're looking for."

Arc nodded slowly, taking in what he said as a plan began to form in her mind. "Firstly, we need to get to a room further down this hall," she began as everyone listened intently. "There'll most likely be guards everywhere, so we'll have to be careful. We should split you three," she began, motioning to Praze, Viri, and Shiro, "because you're all able to take out guards more efficiently than the rest of us. I'm thinking I'll go with you, Shiro, and we'll go and find Yoshino. Hannah and Praze; you two go and find Lilith, hopefully, your memory of this place will spark somewhat and you'll remember the layout, Hannah. As for you two, Viri and Silva, you should both be able to find the remaining captive Night Furies." With a deep intake of breath, Arc sighed deeply as she calmed herself. "What do you all think?"

Viri turned to her with a look of questioning. "I think it's a great plan and all, but what are we to do about Drago and this Bewilderbeast?" he asked, and everyone turned to Arc. All except Shiro, who had just realised what Viri said.

"Wait, there's a Bewilderbeast here?" he asked, slightly shocked. Toothless turned to him in reply.

"He's the Bewilderbeast I gained my alpha status from, Shiro," he explained. "He attacked Berq a few years ago now, under his master; Drago Bludvist. Apparently he was given this base by the Decree after he came to them and told them everything he knew about Berq. They stationed him here to capture dragons and Night Furies and hold them under his control. Now, since I relieved him of his alpha abilities of absolute mind-control, his powers have been dulled to the point that they do not affect strong-willed beings, such as Night Furies, but ordinary dragons like Nightmares and Nadders, for example, will still be affected by his overbearing will. This leads me to question you also, Arc, about what your plan is for the Bewilderbeast and the thousands of dragons locked up here," he added as he turned to Arc yet again.

"First and foremost," she began, her eyes showing her complete concentration. "Our top priority is the rescue of the Night Furies and Yoshino, all of which are crucial to refute the Decree. After that, if I were to think on it now, our next plan of action certainly involves the freeing of the other dragons and the destruction of Dragon and his Bewilderbeast, but I believe we need to secure the Night Furies and Yoshino first."

"I agree with her," Praze spoke up, everyone's eyes changing focus yet again. "Our first priority is to rescue the Night Furies and Yoshino, but after that... I am going to destroy this base, along with everything inside it. This makes our second priority, after the rescue, to be the evacuation of those other dragons... of which I assume you are capable of dealing with as alpha, Toothless?" he asked, and for a moment there was silence as they comprehended what he'd just said.

"How do you plan on-" Shiro began but found himself robbed of his words when Viri spoke up, far louder than he had expected to.

"You cannot use it, Praze!" he exclaimed, and Praze was quick to shush him before anyone undesirable heard them. "We'd all get caught in the explosion, are you mad?"

"What explosion? What are you talking about, Viri?" Shiro asked as Viri turned to him.

"Praze hasn't used any fire for five years," he said simply, and that was all it took for Shiro to understand.

"Since then, eh? Well, this is an unexpected turn of events for the better..." he trailed off, causing confusion to stir in their minds.

"I've always had a growing doubt that you don't use your fire, Praze," Toothless spoke up amidst the confusion, and Praze nodded.

"Yeah, well, you should know why," he replied quietly as the others turned to Shiro, who had started to speak again.

"Theoretically speaking, we should all be able to get out of there and not get caught in it," he trailed off again, causing Viri to stare questioningly at his father.

"You're not seriously thinking of going along with this, are you dad? After that speech about not killing any more people, you agree with this?" he asked, and Shiro only smiled at him.

"You should realise by now that the Decree is a group of merciless and unloving people, who will not hesitate to kill anyone of us. They are the lowest of low, scum, who never should have been born in the first place," Shiro explained. "Does that mean we kill them? No. If we can avoid killing them, we should. But when an opportunity such as this arises, we must put aside our compassion and realise the truth that if we leave them alive, they will continue doing horrendous things upon this world, like how they killed my sister, Scarlet. If Praze has such a powerful energy inside him now, that needs to be released before it kills him, why not use it to kill possibly the most abhorrent existence itself; an evil alpha Bewilderbeast. A flaw in creation, evil Bewilderbeasts are the most horrible things to occur in this world, due to the amount of damage they can cause. Viri, Praze is right. We must erase its existence from this world."

"B-But..." Viri trailed off, trying to find the words only to have them stolen from his mind. "Why can't the people and dragons of this world just coexist peacefully..." Viri muttered, the sadness in his words easily recognisable. "And, even if we manage to pull it off, how exactly would we all get away safely?"

"Reconstruction, right?" Praze asked Shiro, who nodded.

"It is possible to have others reconstruct with you, but it takes a great deal of energy from the user," Shiro explained to Viri, who had been confused. "It would be great if we had a Night Fury who had the ability of Inversion, then the user wouldn't have to suffer the loss of energy so much."

"Inversion?" Toothless questioned.

"The ability to manipulate stamina, and transmute stamina into regeneration," Shiro replied and it dawned on Toothless as he realised.

"Wait, but that describes Ace's ability," he thought aloud. "Hasn't she got Degenerate Regeneration, though?"

"Who is this Ace? And Degenerate Regeneration is the old term for Inversion, so that means this makes things a whole lot easier for us," Shiro explained.

"Ace is my mate, she is back on Berq currently after we all decided that one of us should stay behind in case anything happened," he replied. "So how will this work?" he then asked, and Praze stepped in again.

"I've thought up a plan," he said, as he took off the cloak he had on. "And Arc, this is far too cumbersome to get around in, sorry," he told her as he handed it to her.

* * *

In the caves, it was quite. As usual. None of the guards suspected a thing, even up until their lifeless, unconscious bodies hit the cave floor with the lightest of thuds as they were let down. None suspected a thing at the three separate groups that began to roam the halls freely.

_But why did I get stuck with her, and not Toothless or Arc?_ Praze thought as he ran through the halls soundlessly, his weight placement flawless as he dispersed the energy of his running into the floor, causing not even the slightest of sounds to stir and echo through the halls. But what surprised him the most was that Hannah was keeping up with him _and_ wasn't making the slightest of sounds either. Then again, he decided that she was the most logical choice, given the three groups' separate goals.

_Toothless and Viri, Arc and Shiro, Hannah and I. Toothless and Viri will find the unknown Furies, so Toothless can use his alpha status to calm whomever they may come across. _Even if they were rescuing them, some could easily find themselves overwhelmed, and act unexpectedly. _Secondly, Arc and Shiro, who will find and rescue Yoshino._ Yoshino was Arc's husband, no need to explain there, and Shiro already knew them both from the years back when Scarlet had told him about her newfound friends. _Lastly,_ _Hannah and I, finding Lilith and... _Lilith was Praze's mother and Hannah's mentor. There was no need for explanation there, either.

Hannah had been completely quiet for the entirety of the discussion. Quietly thinking and understanding things herself. Even now, she was deep in thought. That was until she found herself recognising the area they were running through. "Praze, we're close," she told him quietly, and he nodded in understanding.

"How much farther do you think?" he asked, slowing his pace to match hers as it slowed.

"Around this corner, I think," she replied as they turned the corner and stopped.

_This is it, _Praze thought. There was a single door in front of them, and a large iron door stared at them. "Doesn't seem like much to stop a _Night Fury_," Praze commented, trying to elicit the reasoning he knew existed in Hannah's head.

"They give us things that can stop the use of our abilities, as well as things that stop us from using fire," she replied, freezing for a moment. _That's not all they give, at least... not to me._

"What sort of things?" Praze questioned, unaware of the trembling that had overcome her.

"_Terrible... terrible... things..."_ she whispered, her voice weak. She quickly steeled herself, reminding herself that now was not the time nor place for such brooding thoughts. "Nonetheless, we were unable to break out ourselves, but fortunately..." she then trailed off as her right hand became engulfed in a wavy, deep dark red flame. After a few seconds, it tempered and refined itself into a much lighter red as it became smaller and more intense. Praze watched in wonder at the wonderful colour and was almost swallowed up by its light before Hannah gently moved her hand towards the lock. He was surprised yet again when she simply put her hand against the metal, and watched in amazement as it began to melt away, leaving only a hole. Then, without further hesitation, Hannah simply pushed the door open. "May I come in?" she called out, in mock courtesy.

"Hannah? Is that you?" A voice called out as Hannah entered the room. Praze stood frozen as memories began to flood his mind from the voice that had just spoken. _Now's not the time to dwell on the past, stick to the plan,_ he told himself as he walked in also.

"I'm back, Lilith, but we haven't the time to discuss circumstances," Hannah began as a large form moved out of the shadows, two dark-blue eyes peering out from the darkness.

"It would seem that they couldn't use their substances to force me into human form, as I am yet to orient for the first time," Lilith replied as she walked out into the light of the moon that came from a high, barred window. "Who's your friend?" she asked, and Praze froze.

"His name's Riley, but as I said, we need to work fast," Hannah replied, but after a few seconds, something climbed down from Lilith's back.

"Hey Han, aren't you even gonna ask how I am?" a new voice asked, and Hannah was surprised.

"Who's that?" she asked, but another pair of eyes showed themselves, and before long the small form of a young Night Fury had appeared. Praze looked into those eyes, and his own widened as he realised just who he was looking at. The young Fury's eyes were the same colour as his – from _before _they had changed into the blue and purple. They were blue and _orange_.

"Is something wrong with your memory, Hannah?" Lilith asked, confusion slightly lacing her voice. "You don't remember Claire?" At that, the young Fury looked up at Lilith with a slightly hurt look on his face.

"Mum, why doesn't Han remember me?" he asked, and suddenly it felt like Praze's heart had exploded in two. _Oh my God..._

"Yes, actually, I was poisoned and I still haven't recovered fully," Hannah replied as Lilith moved toward her.

"Well, that's unfortunate, I'll see what I can do with what the guard post has outside," Lilith replied as she walked towards the large iron door. She passed Praze, who was still frozen on the spot. "By the way, your friend hasn't said a word since you've arrived, is he alright? Also, how much _do _you remember?" she added as Claire trailed up behind her, but stopped next to Praze, looking at him with the strangest of curiosities.

"Oh, he's just shy," Hannah responded, and Praze found it in himself to glare at her as he finally managed to regain control of his body. "And I remember enough to know that a certain someone isn't in here," she added, causing Lilith to look back at her.

"She's in another cell upstairs, we'll go and get her after I've fixed you up," Lilith replied.

"Actually, no, Riley can go and get her while you work on me," Hannah replied, bringing Praze back into reality. He didn't have the chance to react before he noticed Claire staring at him. The young Fury moved closer to Praze, his head tilting slightly, revealing the curiosity inside. Praze turned to him and leant down, looking at his younger brother in the eye.

"How old are you?" he asked, finally finding his voice.

"I'm four," Claire replied as he stared right back at Praze. Lilith, noticing the interaction, turned her head with the slightest bit of curiosity in her eyes.

"That's odd," she called out, causing Praze to turn to his mother. "He doesn't usually talk to people he's just met, it even took Hannah forever to break through to him."

"Really?" Hannah asked but was shushed by a tailfin held up against her face, which caused the mightiest of odd expressions to form on her face.

Praze turned back to Clare as Lilith continued going through the guards post, grabbing various packets of things. "Is that so?" he asked him, and Claire nodded.

"I don't know why, but I've got this good feeling about you," Claire replied.

"Rightly so," Praze replied, a slight smile touching his lips. "You know, I've never really had the chance to look at those eyes from this angle before, and they really are quite beautiful," he told him, and the faintest of reds appeared on the young Fury's cheeks.

"Y-You really think so?" Claire replied with a weak laugh, and Praze nodded.

"Mhm. And do you know what?" Praze asked, and Claire leaned in closer when Praze beckoned him to.

"What?" he asked.

"Just between you and me, my name isn't actually Riley," he whispered, and Claire's head turned in confusion once more.

"Wait, why did Han lie? What is it then?" he whispered in reply as he leaned in even closer, turning his head for Praze to cup his hands against the young Fury's ear.

"_Praze,_" he whispered, and Claire's eyes widened as he slowly moved his head back, Praze smiling even as Claire began to stutter.

"W-Wha... y-you... y-you're-" but he couldn't finish as Praze pressed his hand to Claire's lips.

"Shhh now, we'll catch up later, 'kay? Remember, this is our secret for now, got it?" Praze asked and Claire nodded his head vigorously before Praze removed his hand, instantly causing Claire's jaw to drop as he watched Praze walk off towards the entrance. "Alright," Praze told Lilith and Hannah, whom both didn't look up from what they doing. "I'll be going, whereabouts is she?"

Lilith didn't even look up as she continued mixing several things together. "Around the corner there'll be a staircase leading to another floor, where there'll be only a few cells. There'll be guards up there, make sure you don't raise the alarm."

"Got it," Praze replied as he turned the corner without looking back.

If he had, he would have seen the smile Hannah gave him and the look in her eyes that said, _Good luck. _

* * *

Meanwhile, unaware of what was occurring in the other side of the mountain, Viri and Toothless both leant against the walls outside a cell door, looking at each other with uncertainty in their eyes. They could hear the crying coming from within the cell.

"What do we do?" Viri whispered, but Toothless just shrugged.

"Sounds young," he began, pausing a moment to close his eyes, "the best course of action might just be to walk in there and announce their imminent freedom."

"Sounds good," Viri replied. "I'm glad one of them had the key," he added as he took it out of his pocket, and placed it into the lock, turning the heavy mechanism, before pushing the door open to both be surprised at the scene before them.

It was what seemed to be a young child, a Night Fury turned human, that was sobbing into his hands. He didn't even notice Viri and Toothless enter. The latter two exchanged looks before they walked further into the cell, right up to in front of where the boy sat.

"Kill me." Their eyes widened when they heard him speak for the first time.

"Don't worry, it's alright, we're here to rescue you and get you out of here," Viri replied, trying to affirm the boy.

"Doesn't matter... kill me," the boy continued, lowering his arms but remaining to stare at the ground. "I don't even know what I am... they just ripped a scale off me, and made me think about what they looked like, then I became one of them... and it isn't even the worst part..."

Toothless and Viri exchanged looks once more. "What did they do to you to make you want to die?" Toothless asked, but the boy shook his head.

"They didn't do anything, I'm just worthless... I couldn't even kill him..." he muttered, causing Toothless' eyes to widen, as did Viri's.

"Kill who?"

"My... father..."

"Why would you want to kill him?" Viri asked soothingly.

"Because he was a murderer and a rapist, and he murdered and raped my mother!" the boy yelled out as he continued staring at the ground. It was silent for a few moments until he spoke again, a large amount of sadness in his voice. "I couldn't even kill him... I'm worthless... so kill me."

"What's your name?" Toothless asked, ignoring the boy's stupid plea. For a moment, Toothless thought the boy would continue to refuse any help, but was surprised to hear his weak answer.

"Amaré..." he croaked. "It means 'love' in Anima, how stupid..." he muttered, causing Viri to shake his head.

"No it's not, it's a wonderful name," he responded. "We can help-"

"He's already dead... someone else killed him," Amaré interrupted.

"Isn't that good, though?" Viri asked. "Now you don't have to-"

"NO!" Amaré yelled suddenly, causing Viri and Toothless to jump back slightly in surprise. "S-Sorry... I just wanted to kill him myself. Love triumphs over Cruelty..." he trailed off. "Yeah, my father's name suited him. It meant cruelty..."

"What was your father's name?" Toothless asked sternly and Viri turned to him in surprise. He was about to question him, but Toothless held up his hand to stop him from speaking. Confused, Viri turned back to Amaré. _It can't be, surely __I__'m just being paranoid,_ Toothless thought.

"Why do you need to know? Does it matter?" Amaré questioned as he raised his head for the first time, and Toothless let out a sigh.

"It's probably nothing, but I just need to know," Toothless replied with a smile, a smile that slowly faded as he stared into Amaré's eyes and looked at the brown that he had thought had long since left the world. _No..._

"H-His name was Saevus."

* * *

Ragged breathing, echoing throughout the small cavern, was the only sound that could be heard. A desk with a small, flickering lamp was laid bare apart from a single item. A fine silver chain, with only a single black scale hanging from it.

Praze slowly walked over to the desk, and ever so gently lifted the chain, watching the scale swing back and forth lightly as he inspected it. After a few moments, he came to his senses and slowly walked over to the door at the end of the corridor, the chain hanging from the hand by his side. He stood there for what seemed like an eternity, an internal battle raging silently until eventually he let out a sigh and slowly walked to the door. From one of his pockets, he pulled a key that had been in one of the desk's draws, and he slowly inserted it into the lock. Then, before he lost his nerve, he quickly turned the key in the lock and swung the door open.

It was almost as if time had stopped. The cell was basked in the moonlight from a barred hole high up on the wall, the only shadow being cast by a silent, motionless figure, sitting on a slab of rock by the wall, staring up at the moon. A young woman, with black hair loosely hanging down to her neck. Obviously no mere human, of course. That much Praze knew, causing his heart to almost explode when her head slowly swivelled, and the deep incarnadine of her eyes captured his every attention. She slowly stood and turned to him, her eyes never leaving his. They both stood there for a few moments, not speaking until Praze had given up. He couldn't take it anymore, but as it turned to leave he was stopped by the sound of a voice.

"Praze?"

His hand grasped the side of the door as he stopped himself and steeled his resolve, before slowly turning around once more. He let out a sigh as he let his hand drop from the frame and he faced her.

"I believe this is yours," he said, calmly holding out the hand with the chain and scale on it. After a few seconds, she slowly walked over to him, grabbed the chain, and fastened it around her neck.

"It really is you, isn't it?" she asked, causing another sigh from him as he dropped his arm back down by his side.

"Yeah it's m-me-" Praze began calmly, but suddenly something just tore him from the deep confines of his cold mind and he could do nothing as the facade began to rend. Almost as instantaneously as he cut himself off, he felt her arms wrap around him and it was all he could do to stop losing it right then.

"Shh..." he heard her whisper. "It's ok... I forgive you."

That was it. Praze couldn't take it anymore, and he suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling overpower him as his emotions began to flood his eyes. He quietly wrapped his arms around her as he buried his head into her shoulder, and silently sobbed. Years and years of emotion piled up inside his head had overwhelmed him and he couldn't contain it any longer, not after everything that had happened. His father, his mother, his newfound little brother, and now...

"I-I missed y-you so much, Sym..." Praze whispered as he held her. "I'm so, s-so, sorry I left you all alone..." he wept, and she smiled as she held him, her own tears silently trailing down her face.

"I'm certain it was just as hard on you as it was on me," she replied as he finally let go and stood back, taking a moment to wipe his eyes and take a deep breath.

"To be honest..." he began, taking another deep breath. "I haven't cried for five years," he murmured, and she took a moment to stare at the ground.

"Neither have I," she replied solemnly before looking up at him. "You know what?"

"What?" he asked, finally finding himself again as he gained control over his emotions again. Well, not quite. He still had a smile on his face that wouldn't go away.

"You know what day it is today, right?" she asked.

"Of course," Praze replied with a smile. "How could I ever forget?"

"Well, let's get out of this place so we can celebrate for real," she murmured as she began to walk towards the door. "Besides, I want to see how my twin has grown. Nice human body, by the way. How abouts did you learn of it, if not from dad?"

"Well, I have a surprise for you," he replied as he followed her out of the cell. "Guess who I found?" he asked, smiling somewhat smugly. She then proceeded to turn to him as her eyes widened, a question constantly repeating in her red eyes. "Yep," Praze replied shortly.

"You better not have told him," she warned, her voice filled with mock threat. Praze laughed, which surprised him to say the least, having not done such an action for far too long.

"Don't worry, I didn't. But he's here at this base, and we've already met up with dad," Praze replied. "Actually, I just came from mom's cell, also-" but Praze cut himself off when he noticed Sym had stopped.

"You found out, right?" she asked.

"What? That our little family has grown to six? Mom didn't recognise me, actually, but I told Claire who I was," Praze told her, to which she found herself confused at.

"Wait- so how did you explain to her without causing any suspicion?" she asked, and Praze just smiled.

"I didn't explain. _Palindrome_ did," he replied, and it took Sym a second to figure who he was talking about. She began to smile for a moment, but then it disappeared in an instant as a strong but distinctly malevolent hate coursed from her widened eyes. "Sym?" Praze called, suddenly feeling worried. "Symphony?" he repeated, and she finally, but slowly, turned to him.

"I need to kill someone for what they did to Hannah."

For a second, Praze was unsure about what he had just heard. It downright shocked him to hear such a purely malevolent statement come from her, but then something that he had said and Hannah's reply flashed in his memory. _We weren't very different before what happened, but I'm like I am now because of what I have experienced. I'm a little worried at what she may have gone through. _

_You can ask her._

Praze shivered at the memory before he turned to her and spoke calmly, "Sym, it's ok. Hannah's fine – we cured her of the poison and memory loss, and she's making a steady recovery-"

"You don't know what she went through, Praze," she cut in, her voice cold. "I didn't harbour any negativities towards you and never did after you left, and there's no way I ever could, but you left a gaping hole when you did. If it weren't for Hannah showing up when she did, I was very much on the brink of insanity and would have gone over the edge. What the Decree did to her... can never be forgiven."

Suddenly, Praze realised just how much Hannah had done for Symphony, and indirectly for him, and noticed all the tiny little things he had missed. Her memory was completely fine, she had lied to Lilith and _pretended_ she didn't know Claire, _just_ so he could go and find Sym on his own. _Even after all this, and whatever terrible thing Sym says happened to her, Hannah is still doing this for her, _Praze thought. It was almost as if everything he had previously seen in Hannah had been erased, and the gaps were slowly filled in.

"Still, killing that man would do nothing but cause us more trouble at this stage, seeing as this is a stealth operation and not an assault," Sym said, bringing Praze out of his thoughts. "Come on, you're leading this rescue at the moment, where are we going?"

"Oh, uh..." Praze trailed off as he traced back his steps. "They should be around this corner," he told her, and sure enough there they were. Lilith, Hannah, and Claire. And Shiro. And Arc. And another, white-haired man, that was in blood-stained clothing, and currently unconscious. _That must be Arc's husband, Yoshino_, Praze thought.

"Ah, there you are Sym," Shiro called out to them, and Sym turned to him.

"Hey dad," she replied, and Hannah moved to greet her also. "Hey, Han, great to see you ok."

Lilith turned to Sym, who turned as well to meet her mother's gaze. "Hannah seems to be ok, at least, from her poisoning. I don't understand why she lied to me about not being completely healed, though," Lilith said, casting a side glance to Hannah, who just grinned sheepishly.

"I can think of a reason," Sym replied.

"So can I," Shiro chimed in, a smile on his face.

"Really, you two?" Praze muttered with a sigh, causing Lilith to look at him.

"Am I missing something here-" she began but was cut off to the sound of footsteps approaching. Half of them turned, ready to attack if necessary, only to see Viri and Toothless come around the corner with a small boy walking behind them.

"Oh, you're all here – good," Toothless said, walking towards them. Viri, however, had stopped a few metres away and was looking right at Lilith.

"Here we go," Praze muttered to Sym, who turned to look at Viri, then back at Praze.

"Is that?"

"Yep."

"Well, you've kept your promise, right?"

"Of course."

"I'm gonna do it."

"Go for it."

After a few seconds of silence, and everyone staring a Viri, and Lilith finally realising who was standing there, Sym walked up to him. Viri's eyes trained on her as she walked up to him, his head still slightly in disarray.

"Viri, right?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, uh, who are you?" he asked, slightly puzzled.

"Ah, good, Praze kept his promise," she said. Behind her, those who knew what was going on silently stood in amusement. Being Shiro, Lilith and Praze. They all knew Sym wanted to introduce herself to her older brother. "Basically, to put it simply, I'm your sister."

After a few seconds Viri's eyes widened, and he looked at her with shock, dumbfounded. "Wait, what? How... old are you? What's your name?" he asked, eyeing Praze, who only smirked in response.

"I'm eighteen, today in fact. My name is Symphony, but you can call me Sym," she replied. "Now, I know what you're thinking, so I'll just tell it to you straight. Praze and I are twins. If you didn't already know, that would also mean Praze is eighteen today too."

A few more dumbfounded seconds passed as Viri looked between Praze and Sym, and a look of mass confusion was easily recognisable on his face. "Bu-"

"Yeah, I made Praze promise not to tell you of my existence if he found you first," she said. After a few more seconds, he gave up.

"Wow... this is all so... confronting... but, at least we're all here now," Viri murmured.

"So you knew about this?" Lilith asked Shiro, who simply shrugged with a smile.

"I was just waiting for them to show up," he replied, but before Lilith could say anything else she realised the nuances in their statements. _Hold on..._

She slowly swivelled her head and waited for Praze to turn from the feeling of a stare boring into the back of his head. To which, of course, he finally did, but before either of them could say anything a loud, young voice penetrated the air.

"Wait! I wanna see!" Claire exclaimed as he came speeding out of the cell he had hidden in after lots of people began to show up. As soon as he saw Viri, his eyes widened and a large smile appeared on his face. "Everyone's here!" he exclaimed, turning to Lilith.

"It would seem so – why don't you go and greet Viri?" she asked, to which he vigorously nodded. As they watched him stroll right on over to Viri, Toothless had finally overcome his shock and spoke up.

"I'm sorry to ruin the family moment here, but we're going to have to get moving if your plan's going to succeed, Praze," he said, and everyone turned to the one in question.

"Praze or 'Riley'," Lilith stated with a smirk.

"Hey, that was all her," Praze replied as he pointed to Hannah.

"Yeah shush you, and get on with explaining," Hannah replied, to which he rolled his eyes at, but then he realised and remembered what she'd done. _Thank you, Hannah,_ he thought as he took a deep breath.

"Alright – here's the plan. For those of you who don't know, I haven't used my fire for five years, and I'm going to use it to destroy this base and the alpha Bewilderbeast along with it," Praze began, and Lilith looked suspiciously over to Shiro.

"I assume you already okayed this, right?" she murmured to her mate, who simply replied with a smile and a nod.

"Don't worry about it." _It's slightly weird being in this form with you like that,_ Shiro thought with a chuckle.

"Anyway, the plan is that Viri is going to take everyone here to Berq so they don't get caught in the shockwave," Praze stated. "Everyone's here, which is good. We can get going right away. Arc, whereabouts is the centre, where the Bewilderbeast is?"

Before she could answer, Claire had walked up to Praze and sat in front of him.

"What?" Praze asked softly.

"_Do I still have to keep the secret?_" he asked in a whisper, and Praze smiled at his little brother's youthfulness.

"_No, it's okay, you can tell whoever you want, Claire,_" he whispered back, and Praze could almost swear Claire's mouth curved into a smile that facial muscles weren't normally able to produce.

"Everyone! This is my big brother Praze!" he yelled, a bit too loudly for anyone's comfort. "And that's my big brother Viri!" he continued, looking over to where Viri was, smiling with glee. _See, Viri?_ Praze thought. _I told you that you would be happy._

* * *

**A/N**

**What an eventful chapter. Well, we learned of two more members of Praze and Viri's family, and now they're all there. How happy! I'm sure nothing bad will come of this...**

**Thanks to:**

**Spirit of Fury – Well, maybe we've just had the catalyst for 'Hraze', eh? And if you liked the reunion last chapter, I'm sure you enjoyed the MEGA OVER-9000 REUNION IN THIS ONE! Yeah!  
**

**QuiteARandomFan – Actually you'll find that I mentioned Shiro wasn't captured with them, probably something Hannah said at some point. Almost complete you say? COMPLETE IT IS! With two extras that you had no idea about. ;). And what makes you think Toothless will get controlled again? It's not like something will happen that causes him to lose his alpha status back to the Bewilderbeast or anything...**

**The 'she' ain't the girl Viri loves! It might have made sense if I hadn't said that it wasn't at the start of the last chapter. (Well, Praze said it to Viri.) Yeah, she wasn't a mate. A twin, though. I hope you enjoyed that! **

**Hm... maybe we'll see what happens with Hannah and the whole murder thing.**

**And you found out everything you wanted to know! Oh, I almost forgot that other bombshell, too ;)**

**Thanks for the cracker review!**

**Skyress1 – I suppose it was rather funny. Thanks.**

**Sag1ttar1us – Oh well, you know the jig. You shouldn't have to wait too much longer, don't worry :). (Next chapter) Interesting thought. I definitely enjoy them both together more than either of them by themselves. Karma returning, eh? Karma will be making an appearance, yes. In a few more chapters, you will realise just how great a pun that was. **

**Tess – Well, they're similar and different at the same time. They just have different outlooks and different energies about them. Unfortunately no, there was no Hiccup or Ace this chapter, but stay tuned! I had planned to do a little throw-back to those on Berq whilst the 'mission' was taking place, but seeing as they'll be returning next chapter (it'll be a long one so no spoilers there ;)) I think you'll find it's unnecessary. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoyed this one, too. **

**mathmonkey167 – Well, I hope all this has you sated for now, haha. It's 1:15 am at the time I published this and I wrote the last 3,000 words tonight. I think you'll enjoy what's to come, and everyone else, for that matter :)**

**Now, everyone, I hope you enjoyed and have a good one!**


	34. Part Two: Evanesce (9)

**Part Two - #9 Evanesce **

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**One year ago I began this story, and it has been and continues to be such a wonderful experience for me. I would like to personally thank those who have been reading continuously, and especially to those who have reviewed continuously, as the feedback is the main reason I have continued. Of course, reviews have begun to dwindle but I still have those that review every chapter, to which I am happily grateful for. However, for anniversary's sake, even if it's just a once-off, could you let me know your complete and total thoughts on this story, be it negative or positive? That would be much appreciated, and again I thank you for your ongoing support. Darker than Night isn't over yet! Far from it!**

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* * *

It was fantastic. Everything around her was seemingly abundant in joy, despite their mission, and there were things that put a smile on her face. A big one.

_This... is what I've been waiting for, for so many years now, _Hannah thought. _Silva has finally returned to me, Sym's family is a whole again, and now there's nothing stopping me from breaking your shell like I did Sym,_ she thought, her eyes on Praze as a realisation came to her. _That's the first time I've seen him smile, _she thought as her head swivelled to Sym, and the sight almost brought tears to her eyes. Happy tears. _And that's the first time I've seen you smile as truthfully as that, Sym. _

Hannah was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Praze walk up to her, so when he spoke she was surprised for a second. "Looks like everyone but you, Sym, and I are going to the large cavern where the captive dragons are held, and then Silva is going to use his alpha status to release them from the Bewilderbeast's control and send them to Berq, and after that..."

"You're going to blow this place up," she finished, and he nodded. "You know..." she began as he turned to her, "... I've never seen you smile before now." He shrugged.

"I never had a reason to," he replied simply, but she was shaking her head.

"No, that's not true, Praze," she retorted, finding herself angered. "I know why; you have extreme separation issues. From Sym. How do I know? Because that's also the first time I've ever seen _her_ smile with actual happiness, Praze, and she admitted to me that she has extreme separation issues herself." When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Your symptoms are the same as hers. You can't take being around other people, you have an extreme sense of claustrophobia, as well as introversion, and you disregard your emotions and try to deny as much of your reactions to them as possible. Sound about right?" she then finished with a huff as she turned away, before letting out a sigh. She realised she may have gone too far, and turned quickly to amend what she said but found herself stopped by his voice.

"You're right."

It was all he said before he let out a sigh and walked away over to Toothless. Hannah's eyes were wide and her mouth agape slightly in surprise as she watched him walk off before she slowly dropped her gaze to the floor and let out the pent up breath she didn't realise she had been holding. Then a smile took her. _First step. _

"Alright, here's the plan," Toothless began as everyone listened in. "Everyone apart from Praze, Hannah and, Symphony, of whom are the best human fighters, will come with me to the cavern containing the captive dragons. I will release them and then Lilith, Shiro, Amaré, Claire, Arc, and Yoshino will split up and go to Arc's ship, where they will leave immediately for Berq. Viri and I will go to the main cavern where Praze, Hannah, and Sym will be before Praze blows up the Bewilderbeast and this base, and then the rest of us will reconstruct to Berq. Are we all clear?" he asked, and received several nods around the room. "Alright then, let's go." And with that, everyone apart from Sym, Hannah and Praze were left in the small area. They all understood that there would be time for reunions and such later.

"I suppose we should get going then," Praze murmured as he began walking towards the exit opposite the one the others took.

"I suppose so," Sym replied as she turned to follow, and Hannah did the same. "How are you feeling, Han?" she then began, turning to her.

"I'm okay, I guess-"

"No you're not," Sym interrupted, and Hannah could only let out a sigh.

"I'd rather not talk about it now," she replied, motioning to Praze, who was walking ahead of them. Sym nodded her understanding before smiling and putting her hand on Hannah's shoulder.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad you're free of your poisoning – who cured you? And what happened?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I washed up on the shore of Berq – did I mention that was my brother, Silva, back there? He's the alpha on Berq, actually, and he didn't actually remember me, but to cut to the point, Praze healed me," Hannah replied.

"Really? Wow, I guess we both got our families back then," Sym said with a smile before she tilted her head with curiosity. "What's the smile for?"

"Well, I just haven't seen you smile like that for a long time." After that, there was silence for a short time until Praze spoke up.

"So how long have you two known each other for?" he asked, causing them both to turn to him. His head was still facing forward, watching the path ahead of them.

"Four years, almost five now. Just after you disappeared," Sym replied. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask; what happened to your eyes?" she asked, and he turned to her, causing her to look in his unfamiliar yet somewhat recognisable eyes.

"Well, I actually died a couple of years back," he told her simply, causing a gasp to come from Hannah and Sym.

"What?" Sym asked with disbelief in her voice. "How? Why aren't you dead right now, then?"

"I happened, by chance, to have been hit by lightning, which in turn restarted my heart, and subsequently burned the melanin from my eyes," he replied before turning forward again. "I'll tell you the whole story later on – oh, but don't tell Viri about the fact that I died, I'm pretty sure he'd flip out," he added with a light huff of humour. "Also, before you ask, I found him on Berq a few years back after Silva took me there. All a part of another story I'm not telling you now." With that, the two girls looked between each other, and Sym just blinked and shook her head at Praze's weirdness.

"Was he always as odd as you?" Hannah asked her.

"Yep."

* * *

"Are you sure you'll all be ok?" Toothless asked Arc as she stood with the others behind her.

"Yes, now get going. Now that we've released all the dragons we need to leave before they find out," she replied as she turned and began to lead the others out of the caves.

"Alright Viri, let's go meet up with our siblings now," he muttered with a light laugh. "My goodness, I still can't get over the fact that Praze has a twin sister and he kept it hidden the whole time. Also, how long has it been since we were both last here, enslaved under the Red Death's control?"

"Many, many years now... Well, I'm rather shocked myself, and I even have a new younger brother on top of that, but I can't shake the feeling that everything just... fits..." Viri replied as he stood there silently. "But there's one thing that has been nagging in my head this whole time..." he trailed off, and Toothless looked at him with curiosity.

"Which is?"

"Well," Viri began as he slowly turned his head to meet Toothless'. "This has all been too easy... I'm beginning to think something isn't right here..." he then trailed off again as he noticed Toothless' lack of response. "Silva? What's wrong?" he asked, but Toothless just kept standing there with his eyes unfocused and mouth open slightly. Then, when Viri felt a small prick in his neck, he realised. Then he fell to the ground with a soft thud.

* * *

"So, what are we doing now?" Hannah asked Praze from their hiding spot in the large cavern; a small alcove that gave them a view of the whole thing. Down in the depths, there was a luminous red glow coming from a fogged up hole in the bottom. Little did they know, this was the same place where the Red Death resided many years ago, where Toothless and Hiccup first encountered the terrible atrocity. And, a few years back, Viri and Toothless.

"We're waiting for Silva and Viri to show up," Praze replied as he turned back to her and Sym. The three of them were sitting down, and leaning up against the small rock formations that kept them out of sight.

"I've noticed you're calling my brother Silva now... you always called him 'Toothless' earlier," Hannah replied, and he shrugged.

"It was what I first met him as, all those years ago. But, seeing as he now responds to both, having regained all of his memories, I decided it would be best to call him by his actual name," Praze replied.

"So, you knew Han's brother for a while before now?" Sym asked, curious.

"Viri's known him the longest. I was told that Viri and he were both good friends after Silva washed up here, and the both of them were enslaved. Silva washed up here after he fell off the cliff when he was separated from Hannah, and Viri found him and treated his wounds," Praze replied. "Again, I will tell you all of these things when we're safe back on Berq besides, someone's entering the cave..." he trailed off as the two others moved over to where he was to get a look. When they did, both of them had to cover their reaction to avoid getting detected.

Sym wanted to run out there and slice the burly, one-armed man's head off.

Hannah wanted to scream and cry at the horrible memories that began to fill her mind.

Praze noticed both of them trying their best to cover such emotions, but they were just far too strong. "Who is that?" he asked. Sym looked at him, her red eyes flowing with hatred, anger, and disgust.

"Drago Bludvist..." she ground out quietly through her teeth. Then, Praze finally understood.

_Of course,_ he thought._ He has hurt Silva, Sym, Hannah, and countless others. God knows what he did to Hannah that could possibly bring her down to such a level,_ he thought. From his experience dealing with her, Hannah was a bright, perceptive, persistent and outgoing Night Fury that seemed to never run out of energy or reasons to annoy and meddle. To see her like she was now, because of that disgusting man, it pissed him off.

"When this is all over, he'll be disintegrated into nothing-" he began, attempting to console them both before he was interrupted by two limp bodies being dragged into the room, and his breath caught in his throat. _Viri and Toothless!_

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" a loud voice boomed through the chamber. Drago's. "We know you're here – didn't you think it was too easy? This is a trap, that you all fell into! Of course, we had to let that ship go because we're a little short-handed here, but it doesn't matter, we have the one we need: the Night Fury alpha."

It was then that Praze realised what Drago intended. He watched two men walk over to Toothless and inject him with something.

"As you should know, it all works on will, and the drug we just gave the alpha here is a little something that takes all the will and drive from someone, which allows a nearby host with a strong will to take it over, let's say... like the Bewilderbeast here!" Drago shouted as Praze watched the large figure rise from the mist.

"We have to do something!" Sym whispered furiously to him as they watched.

"It's too late..." Praze murmured. "The Bewilderbeast has already taken it..." he muttered as he watched Toothless and Viri slowly regain consciousness.

It was ginormous. Bigger than he had expected and menacing looking. The tusk that he had seen in the Great Hall on Berq was definitely a testament to the sheer size of the large Bewilderbeast. _Toothless went up against this and... won?_ Then he realised. _This thing made him kill his friend's father, _he thought as he slowly stood as he walked out from the alcove. The alcove was higher up than the flat area where Drago, Viri and Toothless were, but it could still be seen clearly from down there. Drago noticed.

"Ah, there you are! And the rest of you?" he questioned, before watching as Hannah and Sym followed Praze out there. Then Drago smiled. "Perfect, now it doesn't matter – we don't even need to negotiate. I don't even need protection when I have this Bewilderbeast._ S__ubsannationem,_" he began, smiling evilly. "Tell our friends to walk off the edge into the pit."

The Bewilderbeast seemed to smile before he turned to Praze, his eyes slowly turning to slits before a menacing aura filled the room. Praze slowly turned his head from Drago to the Bewilderbeast, large as it was in front of him, and stared right into its eyes. Then he kept staring as the Bewilderbeast grew impatient. Drago, too. "Subsannationem? What are you doing!? Kill them already! We already know that it works on Night Furies in human form!" Drago yelled, and the Bewilderbeast seemed to concentrate harder on Praze's cold eyes. Then, suddenly, Toothless spoke.

"It won't work on that thing." His words were just as lifeless as his eyes and Toothless sat on his knees, his arms limp by his side. The drug was still affecting him, but his words were true. "You can't control something that has a stronger will that you." With that, Drago's eyes widened in rage as he walked over to where Viri was just trying to stand up, the effects of the poison still lingering. He put a massive hand on Viri's head as he violently threw him to the ground, drawing a sword he had by his side.

"Viri!" Praze exclaimed as he watched Drago plunge the sword right through Viri's lower abdomen. He was about to move but before he could, he watched as a blur sped past him. The blur then evaporated into blue as he watched Sym disappear from the alcove and reappear before Drago's surprised eyes, moving very precisely as to snap the large man's one good arm in half at the joint, causing the sword to drop from his hand and a cry of pain to echo throughout the cavern. In another swift and precise movement, Sym fluidly grabbed the sword with her right hand before turning and ran the sword right through the middle of Drago's neck.

All of it happened so fast, no one had the chance to react. Not even the Bewilderbeast, who had only just noticed what had happened as Drago's head slowly rolled over the edge of the hole it sat in.

Symphony just stood there, staring at his corpse as a sadistic smile spread across her face. _You capture my family, demoralise and taint my friend, then stab my brother? You're not permitted to live in this world anymore, go to hell,_ she thought as she dropped the blade and turned around to look at Viri, the blood pooling around him a clear indication to his injury. She then knelt down and spoke very calmly. "Viri, I need you to reconstruct and take Silva and me to Berq, _now__." _

"I-I..." he tried to speak, but a violent cough caused him to bend over and cough out far too much blood for Sym's comfort. Sym then turned and looked at the Bewilderbeast, and watched as the surprise on its face slowly dissipated as he began to charge its deadly attack.

"VIRI _NOW!" _she yelled as she grabbed onto his arm and Toothless', and took one last look over to where Praze and Hannah still stood up on the alcove, still fixated on the Bewilderbeast that had just opened its mouth. She then looked Praze in the eye when he turned to them, and the message in Sym's eyes were clear. _You know what to do._ Then, just as the Bewilderbeast shot a wave of ice that rushed towards the three on the ground, they disappeared.

The Bewilderbeast turned with a smile, thinking he had just killed them, but Praze slowly turned to him once more as he held his left arm back behind him. "Grab my hand," he muttered softly to Hannah, and she complied as he held out his right arm in front of him, closed his eyes, and concentrated on what Viri had told him. Then, a small ball of white began to hover in his held out palm. It didn't change size, but Praze could feel the energy pouring out of him through his held out palm as the white grew brighter, and the Bewilderbeast grew confused as it watched the air around the white ball begin to distort. Just before it grew impatient, however, Praze suddenly opened his eyes and gasped as the last of the immense pressure left him, breathing deeply as he realised he felt absolutely incredible. He felt so much more alive and healthier than he had been, and suddenly he seemed to feel so much more. The colours around him were far less dull, the smells and sounds far more intricate than what they had been for so long. His mind was clear, and he realised he was feeling a large spread of emotions that had been so dulled. He had to breath deeply to clear his mind as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

He felt rather than see the Bewilderbeast begin to charge up its icy breath, so he opened his eyes once more as he clicked his fingers and watched the ball disappear. The Bewilderbeast stopped its attack, and Praze could see the question in its eyes. _Where did it go?_

"If this worked, then we need to get out of here right now..." Praze began but he trailed off as he watched what was happening to the Bewilderbeast. It had just begun to thrash about as its body began to seem like it was caving in on itself, but then Praze realised. It _was_ caving in on itself. _Viri was right_, Praze thought. _It became implosive._ After just a second more, the Bewilderbeast disappeared. More so, his body had been crushed in on itself from the force of the ball of energy Praze had reconstructed inside of its stomach. The ball of energy that had since turned into a large black void that had caused a large wind to pick up as it began to suck up the air around it. Praze's eyes widened. "Time to go," he said shortly as he turned to reconstruct back to Berq, but something happened. All of a sudden his legs gave way, and he fell to the floor.

"Praze!" Hannah exclaimed as he slowly tried to get to his feet, but found he couldn't.

"Damn... that took a lot out of me..." he trailed off, feeling incredibly tired. He stopped thinking, all he wanted to do was fall asleep.

"Praze you need to get us out of here or we're going to die!" she yelled at him, and Praze found it in himself to open his eyes and look behind him at the black void that had begun to grow smaller. Then he realised what was going to happen when it receded into itself fully, and watched as it grew ever closer to doing so. That was when panic set in and Praze found the newfound adrenaline helpful as he grabbed Hannah's arm again and took one last fleeting look at the black void as it disappeared into itself. His eyes widened and as quickly as he could, he and Hannah disappeared into a blue haze.

* * *

"Do you think they did it?" Arc asked as she steered the ship with unease, part of her feeling a necessity to go down into the hold to check on Yoshino. "We're a fair distance away by now, should they have already-" she began, but she cut herself off when a brilliant light lit up the night sky. Everyone aboard her ship turned and found the entire island had disappeared from view as a mix of white and orange engulfed it. It was silent, and they couldn't hear a thing, which caused silence and wonder in itself.

Shiro and Lilith both turned, of whom the former had returned back to his original form. Claire sat there with wide eyes, as did Amaré, who had, much to his relief, been shown how to return to his original form. Arc then realised what would happen as she began counting seconds, noting the distance they were away from the mountain as she covered her ears. Then, just as she had thought, a large piercing sound reached them as the initial shockwave of the explosion reached the ship and threw everyone on board to the ground. It was deafening, but eventually it passed as the surprise left those on board.

"How far do you think that'll go?" Shiro then asked, and Arc realised it too.

"It'll go all the way to Berq and then some," she replied, realising another thing. "Can one of you fly there now? I'm afraid Berq's going to have a bigger problem on their hands than a shockwave, especially with the amount of sea between the island and it."

"Of course, whereabouts is it?" Shiro asked, understanding instantly. But just as he was about to take off, he stopped himself. "Actually, nevermind. I won't need to alert them, Sym should be able to figure it out and warn them herself.

* * *

It was silent in the sheltered grassy lakeside of the Cove, the only sound being the wind as it coursed through the surrounding forest. Yet soon the silence was broken as a mangled cry echoed throughout the area.

"Viri!" Sym cried out as she rushed over to Viri, the patch of dark red on his chest growing every second. Viri was trying not to writhe around like the searing pain wanted him to, but he couldn't help his cries of agony. "Where are we? Are we on Berq?" she asked frantically as she gently laid him down on the grass. He was convulsing slightly; shock was setting in, she reasoned. She then took a deep breath. _Calm._

"Cove..."

Sym turned her head to Toothless, who was still in the same lifeless state as before. _This is Berq, then. "_Silva, I need you to listen to me," she began, walking over to him.

"Ngh...?" he murmured, the substances in his system clearly at work.

"Can you please orient for me? Comparative to your size, the drug will disperse in your larger Night Fury form to lessen the effects," she continued, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Okay?" she affirmed sternly, and she watched his eyes slowly understand as he moved to grab the necklace around his neck. "Good," she muttered as she moved back over to Viri, who was clutching at his stomach with his soaked hands.

"S-S-Sym-m..." Viri began as he tried to speak, but his shaking lips did him no favour as she shushed him, and grabbed his hand tightly with her own.

"Shh, don't try to speak, Viri," she replied in a whisper as she applied pressure to his stomach and internally winced at the groan she heard emanate from him. She then noticed a flash in her peripheral vision and smiled with relief. "Help will be here soon, just hold on," she told him as she regrettably let go of his hand and turned to Toothless. "Silva, how are you feeling?" she asked, watching the large black form turn to her with a paw on his head as he groaned.

"Okay, I guess... still a little groggy," Toothless replied, then paused when he saw Viri lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, convulsing in pain. "Viri!" he called out as he moved to help his friend, but was then stopped by an arm held out in front of him. "What-"

"Listen to me, Silva," Sym began sternly, causing Toothless' attention to focus on her. "His lower abdomen was run through with a sword, he needs your mate. Specifically, her ability. Praze told me she has Inversion, so she can heal him no matter how close he gets to death, but he is definitely dying right now. He probably only has five or ten minutes before he goes into cardiac arrest from lack of blood, and then he _will_ die. _You_ are going to fetch your mate, _now_. Understood?" she asked, and he nodded without hesitation before taking off in a blur, leaving Sym and Viri alone in the clearing.

"Sym..."

She slowly turned at the sound of Viri's weak voice and was surprised to see a weak – _determined_ – smile on his face as he chuckled. She walked over to him and knelt down again, a sigh leaving her as she looked up at the stairs.

"That doesn't sound too promising..." he continued weakly, and Sym commended his willpower. He'd recovered from the shock, but the pain was certainly still there.

"Yeah, well you'll be fixed up in no time," she replied as she looked down at him and smiled. Then she had a thought. "How far away is that island from here?" she asked, and he tried to look at her with confusion. He just ended up looking at her blankly.

"An hour... flying," he managed to get out and she grabbed his hand again, stroking in gently to calm him.

"Do you know which way?" she then asked, but he couldn't answer her any longer and she didn't force him. "Don't force yourself, I'll see for myself now, just hold on and help will be here soon," she told him as she let go and turned away, looking up to the basin of the Cove where the tree-line ended. Without another thought of hesitation, she quickly reconstructed up onto the top of the tallest tree she could see, and she didn't have to search long once she got up there. The brilliant flash of white was all she needed to know. _I hope you got out in time,_ she thought, realising that Praze and Hannah weren't anywhere to be seen. She figured they'd probably reconstructed elsewhere, but just in case, she kept hoping they were safe.

After staying there for a few moments, she saw two black forms in the distance and figured it was Silva and his mate. She was about to hop down before she realised something, and turned to the sea as she noticed. Noticed the splashes of white as they began to travel faster and faster as they approached. Her eyes widened and as fast a lightning her arms shot up in front of her to protect herself as an incredible wind picked up and she was blown backwards out of the treetops. She was stunned for a moment at the sheer power of the shockwave before she realised she was flying out above the small lake in the Cove. Then she smiled as she let gravity take its course and fell into the lake with a loud _splash_.

After a few short seconds, Toothless and Ace landed in the cove. "What was_ that_?" Ace asked, referring to the shockwave that had nearly sent the two of them out of the sky.

"Doesn't matter, hurry!" Toothless exclaimed as he ushered her towards Viri, who had since become unconscious.

"Yes, right, of course," she said when she remembered why she was there. When she looked towards where Toothless was taking her a loud gasp left her as she rushed over to his lifeless body. "Viri!" she exclaimed as she stepped out of the flash of white and placed a hand on on his chest, whispering to herself. Within seconds, she watched as the blood begin to rewind and return back into Viri's body and before long it was completely back to normal. "Woah..." she muttered as her body was deprived of energy and she collapsed onto Viri's chest, of whom was also out cold.

Toothless let out a sigh of relief as he watched Viri's eyelids flutter open, before green and blue trained on Ace. "Uh, Silva, why is your mate laying on me?" he asked, his voice filled with his confusion.

"Thank goodness you're ok," Toothless told him with a smile. "You really took a lot out of her," he added, and Viri's eyes widened as his face flushed.

"Doing _what!?_" he exclaimed as Toothless tilted his head in confusion.

"You don't remember?" he asked, and after a few seconds Viri calmed down as he remembered. "You were injured so badly it took up all of her energy just to heal you up," he told him, and Viri nodded.

"Alright, alright, now could you please get her off me? This is a bit... awkward," he replied, and Toothless understood his friend's discomfort, even if with a smirk. He quickly oriented and pulled her off him gently, before laying her down on the grass and helping Viri up. "How do you feel?" he asked, at the same time noting that even though he had oriented back to a human he seemed to no longer be under the effects of the drug. _Maybe it dissipated when I oriented, _he thought.

"Not dead," Viri responded as the sound of splashing water turned his head.

"Good feeling, that," Sym said as she walked out from the lake, soaking wet. "Feeling not-dead is always good."

"Why were you in the lake?" Toothless asked, a brow raised.

"Shockwave. I was in the trees and it pushed me into it," she replied.

"Yeah, Ace and I almost had a problem with that ourselves," Toothless said. "Wait, don't you have reconstruction? Couldn't you have just reconstructed onto the grass?" he asked, but she just smiled.

"Well I just felt like getting immersed in water, thanks," she told him.

"_Who_ is _that_?" a voice came from behind them. The three of them turned to see Ace getting to her feet, staring at Symphony. "Did Praze turn into a female? What she just said sounded just like him – and reconstruction? I think you all have some explaining to do."

"Ace, is it?" Sym began and Ace nodded. "Glad you're acquainted with Praze and Viri, that makes things easier. They're my brothers."

Ace's eyes widened for a moment before she grew confused. "Wait, how old are you? You look the same age as Praze... he couldn't possibly have not known about you..." she trailed off.

"Same age," Sym replied. "We're twins. About the not-knowing thing, yeah I told him not to tell Viri of my existence if he found him before me, which includes pretty much anyone affiliated with him, too. Makes it easier."

"Right..." Ace trailed off, trying to wrap her head around it before seemingly having sorted it out. "Alright then. Info from scratch, my name is Ace, I'm Toothless' mate," she said as she put an arm around Toothless' neck.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Symphony, but you can just call me Sym, it makes things easier," she replied, and Ace nodded.

"Sym it is then," she said before she decided to ask her something that had been on her mind. "Say, you wouldn't be able to tell me what that shockwave was just now, would you?"

"Oh, that? Yeah, that was Praze," Sym replied and Ace's eyes widened. "He hadn't breathed any fire for some time, so the charged shot he had was extremely powerful – a charged shot we used to destroy the base."

"Right, and you were one of the captured Night Furies there?" Ace asked.

"Yes."

"So how many of you were there? How many captured Night Furies?" Ace asked, but before anyone could answer, Toothless butted in.

"I'm sure we can talk about this all later, but for now I think we should return to the village," he said, and Sym turned to him.

"Yes I agree, we'll need to warn the people in charge of Berq anyway so good idea," she replied. _Good, _Toothless thought. _I don't really want to deal with telling Ace about Amar__é__ just yet... wait._

"Hold on, what did you say about a warning?" Toothless asked in confusion and Sym just smiled.

"That amount of sea between here and that island... an explosion that large might prove troublesome – and wet," Sym told him, and with a horrifying realisation his eyes widened.

"You mean...?"

"Yes," she replied with a smile. "A freak wave may well be on its way..."

* * *

It was dark. The sound of rain pelting against a roof could be heard, but soon enough Hannah's eyes had adjusted to the lighting as she realised she was in a human structure. She looked around her and noted the things she recognised: a desk, bed and a bookshelf. That was it. It wasn't like she didn't recognise anything else; there _wasn't_ anything else. The room, that she had figured out to be some sort of log cabin, was bleak and had nothing else in it besides a strange contraption on the wall. She looked around the room again. _Door... window... raining outside, the scenery seems to be some sort of forest?_

After a few more seconds of looking around, Hannah heard a groan at her feet. She looked down to see Praze getting to his feet, albeit rather slowly. "Praze...?" she questioned. "Where are we?"

"Must have... panicked," Praze told her, breathing heavily. "We're on my island-" he began but with a startling cry he cut himself off as his eyes widened, a searing pain burning in his chest.

"Praze!" Hannah exclaimed as she watched him steady himself by placed a hand on the wall for support as his other hand clutched at his chest.

"S-Stop..." he ground out through his teeth, trying hard to remain clam. "I-I need... to heal."

"You're right," Hannah told him. "After releasing that energy and then reconstructing me with you, you'll need to rest a lot before you can take us to Berq-"

"Not... this body..." Praze murmured, his eyes dropping with his weariness. "I haven't... oriented... since... when my body was beginning to tear itself apart... from the energy..." he said, the words coming out in between ragged breaths. Hannah's eyes widened, and she realised as he slowly stumbled towards the door and pulled the necklace from his neck.

"What do you want me to do? Do you need me to do anything?" she asked, slightly confused at his actions. "I was trained just as much as you if not more, tell me what I can do-"

"Stay here..." he muttered weakly as he opened the door and felt the wind and rain against his face. It was refreshing and soothed his mind as he stepped out into it and shut the door behind him.

"Alright then..." Hannah muttered to herself as she walked over to the bed and sat down, clasping her hands together as she looked around the room again. Then she realised something. She didn't know what he looked like. _I can't remember from that night... _she thought as her eyes widened in curiosity. _I want to know!_

Meanwhile, outside, Praze was stumbling through the forest, his ragged breathing the only thing competed with the heavy rain. _Quite the storm at the moment,_ he thought with a pained grin as he continued towards the beach. After a few more minutes, he came upon the sand, and he let out a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief that ended abruptly when he realised that this was going to hurt. _Really_ hurt. He remembered the pain he felt that night and realised that pain would be there when he returned to his Night Fury form.

"Oh well," he muttered with a determined grin as he stopped in the middle of the beach and looked up. He held the scale in his hand, a sigh leaving him as he let himself relish in the pain that was his present lack of energy. It was nothing in comparison to what he was about to feel. _"_Let's get this over with..."

* * *

As Hannah sat in the darkness, the only thing keeping her curiosity at bay was her thoughts about what had happened. That was, until, she thought she could hear something over the rain. It sounded like thunder. _Must be lightning..._ she thought.

* * *

As he laid in the sand, Praze let the rain soothe him once again once he'd stopped convulsing. _Damn... that was worse than I thought_, he thought as he felt the numerous cuts begin to heal. He let out a long, gratifying, moan as they slowly closed shut and he began to shift his large, Night Fury body to lay on his stomach, allowing the cuts on his back and wings to heal. He let out a groan of pain as he did so, his wounded body clearly not healed enough as it would have liked, but eventually it made it.

"Urghhhhhhhhhhhh," he moaned, letting his face rest in the sand as he felt the rain pelt his body, healing him. _It's going to take me some time before I can work up the strength to take us out of here... why did I even come here in the first place? _

After lying there for a few more moments, Praze slowly pulled himself to his feet. His wings ached and he could feel the eagerness in them and in himself. He really wanted to fly. _As if you can do that in your current state,_ he told himself with a laugh as he began to stumble back towards the cabin, leaving the mess in the sand behind. He was about halfway there when he realised he was still in his Night Fury form. Then he realised. He hadn't seen her in her Night Fury form and the night she arrived didn't count. He couldn't remember anything besides those eyes, his mind had been elsewhere. He didn't understand himself, but he had somewhat decided he didn't want her to see him. _Why, _he questioned himself, but he couldn't understand why. He rolled his eyes. _The pain's gotten to your head,_ he thought as he oriented and turned the corner to where the small log cabin was.

"I'm glad I built you," he muttered absent-mindedly as he walked up to the door and opened it, stopping as his eyes locked onto Hannah's mildly surprised ones. He then smiled and gave a weak laugh, taking one step into the cabin before falling down to the ever-welcoming floor.

* * *

**A/N**

**That one was a long one. I really hope you enjoyed this, and I would be grateful if you took the time to review with your thoughts, even if it's just once. Thank you. **

**Thanks to:**

**QuiteARandomFan – All good, I don't expect anyone to remember everything, especially not with this story haha. I'm glad you enjoy my characters, if I were to say what I'm most proud of, it would be them. I hope you liked the way I got rid of Drago, you seemed to not like it when I mentioned him ;)**

**I'm very happy you continue to review each chapter, you're easily one of the top contributors to the reason why I update as frequently as possible as I really enjoy hearing your response. As I've stated before; I am only writing here to improve. How can I improve without reviews? Of course I get personal enjoyment out of writing this, but it goes without saying; I definitely need feedback from people. So I thank you very much, and hope you enjoyed! And on that side note... that would be quite the pun indeed... perhaps even rivalling our palindrome herself ;)**

**mathmonkey167 – And wonder you shall about what they did to Hannah... but I do feel like you know the answer. *Sigh* I tell you too much haha. Though, I suppose it is a two-way stream of spoilers from both parties, eh? I wonder how much I know about CCF that others don't ;)**

**Thanks for the review, and work on your own you definitely did! Hopefully, this chapter sated your hunger for more... Maybe we'll see something to do with Amaré and maybe a reaction from someone when the ship arrives on Berq? Only time will tell ;)**

**Spirit of Fury – Dance away to the trumpet call! Praze may or may not be feeling some things now that he hasn't got a singularity inside him, messing with his head, eh? And so Symphony joins the choir, yes. Good pun. Lilith has her reasons for not recognising Praze for one, he was human and the only distinguishable trait he had was changed (his eyes). All the character reactions are good you found? That's dandy. I see you're loving Viri's reaction. He had a little embarrassment with this chapter, eh? I'm sure some people enjoyed that. Maybe we'll see some things with hilarity once it's all cleared up is all I can say haha.**

**Thanks again for the review! Plot twists are mighty! Good day!**

**Thank you to my three reviewers last chapter... **

**I hope you all enjoyed, now have a good one :)**


	35. Part Two: Comatose (10)

**Part Two - #10 Comatose**

* * *

**A/N**

**Yas, I know. It's been the longest of whiles since I have updated, and there have been reasons. I've been rather busy, and my mind has been too cluttered to think intricately enough to write anything better than decent, so I apologise if any of this chapter seems a little off. **

**Please enjoy, I'm sincerely hoping I will be able to get on a roll again sometime soon.**

* * *

A dark, deep nothingness... then... light_._

Praze opened his eyes to a ray of sunlight peeking through the curtains on the window, sneakily attacking his vision without remorse. _Asshole sunlight, _he thought as he slowly tried to move his incredibly stiff body, only to find himself restricted somehow. He was about to call out in terror as his senses overflowed his mind, an incredible fear growing inside of him until he looked down and saw that it was just the covers of his bed that were over him. He let out a sigh of relief as he cursed his claustrophobia and wondered when he had gotten into the bed, then he wondered who had closed the curtains he usually kept open.

As he used his aching arms to lift his upper body into a sitting position, he was momentarily surprised at the figure he saw slouched on his desk. He pondered for a moment, allowing time for the previous night's events to come back to him. _She must have closed the curtains and laid me on my bed, _he thought as he remembered another thing. _At least, if I ever fall again, I__'ll__ know the floor will be there to catch me, _he thought, pulling the rest of the covers off to swivel his legs and land his feet on the floor as he sat there and took a deep breath. Almost at the same moment he realised his immense hunger, a lingering smell entered his nose and he noticed the bucket by the door.

After taking far more time than he'd like to admit, Praze finally overcame his stiff body and hobbled over to the desk and found the bucket to be filled about halfway with fish. His eyes widened and his mouth began to drool before he realised, with enthusiasm receding, that he would have to cook them first to eat them in his current form. _But wait,_ he realised. _I can change now_. With a wide grin and, again, taking far more time than he'd like to admit, Praze hobbled his way outside and set the bucket down as he reached for his scale. But just as his hand neared his neck, it stopped.

_What if Hannah wakes?_

He thought about the question for a moment. _Does it really matter if she sees you? _Praze asked himself, but he certainly couldn't ignore the vulnerability he felt at the thought. It wasn't like he was embarrassed, but he couldn't describe the feeling. It wasn't like he was shy and feared criticism of what he looked like, either. Praze didn't realise it, but he just didn't want to be the first to yield. As such, he decided to move away from in front of the cabin and moved out of sight by a nearby rock formation before, finally, orienting and feeling such a relief that he could finally be in his original form again.

After just taking a moment to breathe in deeply, Praze picked up one of the fish and was about to sink his teeth into it when he realised one of two things; it already had teeth marks. _Hannah must have gone out and caught these this morning, and obviously already eaten her share_, he thought. The second thing he realised was that there was an incredibly irritating feeling of restraint in one of his shoulder blades, like if he were to pull it a certain way it would go away and leave him with a slight feeling of bliss. As one might guess, whilst he ate the fish, Praze sat there moving his foreleg and wing in all manner of ways to try and get the restraining feeling to give in but to no avail. He let out a whine of discontent as he finished off the last fish, swallowing it wholeheartedly, before finally returning to his human form and walking back to the cabin, his human body also feeling far better now that it had food in it and life-threatening concentrated energy out of it. But when he turned the corner, he found Hannah leaning against the doorway with a smirk on her lips.

"What, you shy?" she asked, and Praze knew exactly what she was implying. And since she was implying it, Praze knew what it was going to become. A challenge. First one to yield and show the other their true form would lose.

"Actually, I think you'll find I was being considerate by refraining from waking you," Praze replied without hesitation. _She definitely knows. _

"You, considerate?" she asked as she stood up properly, her smirk emboldening. "Am I still sleeping?"

"I wish you were," Praze muttered, finding his body suddenly deprived of strength. He saw Hannah ready for her reply, but before she could say anything he was on his hands and knees with his eyes wide at the feeling. Hannah was next to him in an instant.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and Praze was surprised how quickly she had changed from, well, _Hannah_ to serious. She held out her hand for him to grab, and he took it after a few moments of coming back to his senses. He put the other on his head as a headache invaded his mind, the only thing he could think about for that moment being the realisation that his sudden energy deprivation would be a common thing until he had recovered fully.

"Y-You, considerate? Am-"

"Oh don't even try when you're disabled," she murmured as she helped him put his hand over her shoulder and helped him walk inside again. "Now, these side effects will probably only last a few hours, so just lay down a rest," she told him as he listened and laid down. He was not feeling up to doing anything but that, but he had to know something that was on his mind.

"H-How long was I out for?" he asked, clenching his eyes shut as he rubbed his temple with his fingers. "I feel like a wreck."

"You look like a wreck."

"Hannah, please."

She let out a sigh, knowing it was unavoidable.

"A month."

Her reply cut right into him, and all he could think about was Sym; how she would be feeling after losing him again. Another thing cut into him too. He could _feel_ Hannah's devious smile radiating from her lips without even looking at her, and his face hardened from whatever sorry state it must have been in as he stared daggers at her.

"Okay, fine," she relented. "Overnight." Praze let out a sigh as he fell back onto the bed, closing his eyes in relief as Hannah sat down at the desk. A few moments passed, the sound of distant waves lingered, and a single thing replayed in Praze's mind that he just couldn't rid himself of.

"Hannah," he began, his voice soft yet serious as he stared up at the ceiling. She turned to him from the chair, attentive to whatever he might say next. "Thanks."

"For what?" she asked, her head tilted in confusion. The last thing she'd done was mess with him, and he definitely wasn't thanking her for that.

"For helping Sym," he replied, turning his head to look at her. "She told me about the damage I caused when I left, and that you were the one to mend it." For a second Hannah seemed surprised, then it faded away into a smile.

"Your mere presence seemed to do more for her than I ever could, Praze," she replied.

"How so?"

"Well, I guess it would be hard for you to see it, but I've never seen Sym smile with real, _true_, happiness before," she told him, and she could almost detect the slightest of smiles in the corner of his mouth. "Your mental state seems to have changed from before, I've noticed," she then added, and he turned to her.

"I just found my long lost twin sister, of which you know the improvements on her part so it's not that hard to guess my own, and I am finally without the massive strain on my body that I have had for over five years," he told her simply. "Well, found my sister only to now not be able to see her," he murmured.

"Well, you'd better rest up then, because the sooner you can take us back the sooner you can," she said as she sat down on the desk and laid her head on the table, exhausted. Praze watched her whilst she did this, and something else that had been lingering in his mind began to make its way out of his subconscious.

"You seem... different," he said.

"Why?" she asked. "Because I care that you're hurt? Possibly because you're my only way back to Berq and everyone else?" she muttered simply, her voice both muffled from the desk she still had her head laid on as well as clearly laced with exhaustion.

"No, you just seem a whole lot... healthier," he replied. "Mentally," he added. There was a pause of silence for a moment, for which Praze took as another chance to speak. "You say possibly, but I just can't see you being so uncaring. If there's anything I know about you so far, is that you certainly care for others, especially those close to you. Like Sym and Silva, for example." Another moment of silence. "And you are certainly the most unruly trickster I have ever met," he added with a smirk in the corner of his mouth.

"Shush, cripple." His smirk grew, knowing he was correct.

"I'm not crippled, I'm just recovering from being incredible at reading people and blowing stuff up."

"Whatever you say, cripple."

* * *

Elsewhere, snow had begun to fall, the cold beginning to turn the multitudinous puddles into ice. People had been so hyper, so _loud_, there was no place for Sym to just sit, relax, and think. Hence, she found herself allowed to wait in Praze's house for his and Hannah's return. So, she sat on his bed and just flopped onto her back, staring up at the wood ceiling, her racing mind not allowing her to stop thinking about Praze and Hannah. It was absolutely killing her.

She let out a long sigh, closing her eyes to give her some peace in the silence. _At least, I'm alone,_ she thought. A thought she wished she hadn't thought when she heard the door open.

_Fuck. _It was pretty safe to say Sym was currently _not_ in the most stable mental state.

"Hello, Sym?" a voice rang out, causing her eyes to open and sit up on the bed. She then got up and walked over to the balcony, feeling an immense relief when she saw Viri in the centre of the main room. He was probably the only one she didn't mind talking to at the moment, save for Claire and Lilith. She didn't think she'd be able to keep up with Shiro's fast-paced heart-warming speeches presently.

"Oh, hey Viri," she called out, quickly reconstructing to the bottom floor, momentarily surprising him.

"You couldn't take the stairs?" he asked, a smile on his lips.

"I don't usually reconstruct very much, but I am incredibly tired right now, physically and _especially _mentally, and I just do _not_ feel like doing anything," she replied. "What did you want? You're lucky you're probably one of the only people I'll speak to right now. Actually, you _are_ the only one I'll speak to right now. The other two aren't here."

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that everyone's finished cleaning up from that wave last night. Thankfully it wasn't too large, but thanks to the snow we have various ice patches around so you'll need to be careful," he replied. "Also, I was kinda hoping we'd be able to maybe talk for a bit if you'd like."

"If you haven't spoken to the folks yet, I would probably advise doing so first thing when they get back," she told him, a confused look on his face.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because, even though they won't be back for a bit and it is no way a legitimate excuse for me to not talk right now, I am tired," she told him bluntly. "You won't get much information out of me, and it's far too early for me to be doing anything mentally stimulating, as much as I'd like to speak to you at some point."

"It's midday," he said, a brow raised.

"I'm usually still asleep," she muttered, rubbing the side of her face with her hand. "Marvellous things these bodies, don't you think?" she asked, putting her hand in front of her and spreading her fingers. "Just a pity we don't get to keep them."

Viri had been ready to reply, but what she had said confused him. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, curious.

"Don't you know? Sooner or later we'll lose the ability to change into humans," she told him. "You should really catch up on some things with Shiro."

"That's probably a good thing to do," Viri replied, turning for the door. "Though, it was nice talking to you, even if for only a few moments. I look forward to doing so more. Also, one last thing before I leave; I'll let you know when the ship has arrived because then I'll actually be able to catch up with Shiro, but for now, I have to get back to the village."

"Sounds good, I'll see you soon then," she replied, waving him off as he left the house. "Ugh," she muttered, falling backwards to land on the bed again, leaving but a blue haze on the lower floor. _Marvellous thing reconstruction, especially when tired_, she mused to herself. Then she let out a sigh, feeling unusually impulsive. "Just do it," she told herself, quickly reconstructing outside the house to find a rather large Night Fury outside. She was momentarily confused, but then she realised.

"I thought you were tired?" Viri asked, but he didn't get a response. He noticed she was looking him over, then realised that it was the first time she was seeing him as he was.

"Well, I was, but I actually came out here to ask if you would like to go for a flight anyway," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't really feel like being repressed by my worry right now, so I might as well take my mind off it."

"Sure, I'd love to," he replied. "The village can wait, I'm sure. And by being repressed by your worry, you mean...?"

"Hannah and Praze," she replied simply. He let out a sigh as he looked out to the sea.

"To be entirely honest, I think Praze was in a hurry when he reconstructed, so he might not have chosen the best place to go, being here, and I've got ideas as to where," he murmured. "And if I'm correct, they're probably stuck there until Praze recovers."

"Well, that sounds about right, and I can still feel their presences, too, so maybe I'm just overreacting a little," she added. "Whereabouts do you think they went?"

_Exceptional senses, I can't even feel Silva from here,_ Viri thought, momentarily surprised.

"To Praze's island, without a doubt," he replied with a laugh, shaking off his disbelief, seeing the questions in her eyes at his response. "It was where he was for quite some time after he left you all. It's an uninhabited island he named Amicus."

"Uninhabited as in... nothing else at all? No other species of dragons?" Sym questioned and he nodded. "It's probably an unostentatious island, then. How incredibly lucky..."

For a moment, Sym was just staring out in the distance as she thought, so she didn't see Viri's confused face. "Unoswhat?" he asked.

"Unostentatious," she repeated, not understanding that he still didn't pick that up whatsoever. "An island that can only be perceived by Night Furies. Even human ships subconsciously divert around them, and aside from us, the only living creatures that can discern the existence of such islands are non-sentient, like birds and fish."

"I wonder if he knows that..." Viri trailed off, before realised that if he wanted to fly with Sym, he would have to do so quickly before he was needed in the village. _I'm certain Hiccup and that won't really mind anyway, given the circumstances,_ he thought before he smiled. "Anyway, we should get going. You ready?"

Sym was spaced out for a moment, but she nodded and gave him a light smile, reaching for the scale around her neck. "Yah, sounds good."

* * *

Elsewhere, two Night Furies sat atop the large mountain the overlooked Berq, a slight breeze giving them both the feeling of flight from being up so high.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Ace spoke up, leaning on Toothless' shoulder.

"Two things," he replied, looking back at her with a smile. "I've numbered them in my head, pick either one or two and I'll tell you that first."

"Hm... two," she replied, a smile on her face as she let out a sigh. _It's so nice to finally be alone with all this kerfuffle going on._

"Good choice," Toothless said, turning his eyes to the surrounding clouds. They were all as white as the snow that descended from them. "I wanted to know if we should tell people or not about... you know."

"That we decided against it?" she asked, causing Toothless to look at her and be momentarily surprised by her white scales.

"This is a serious moment!" he exclaimed, despite his inability to keep a straight face as Ace giggled away.

"It's snowing, I might as well change to white every once in a while, it's refreshing," she replied. "Anyway, is that what you were meaning?"

"Yes," Toothless replied, nuzzling into her neck. Ace then closed her eyes as a chill ran through her, a smile spreading across her lips. Then suddenly she snapped out of it and pulled away abruptly, leaving Toothless looking disappointed.

"I thought I told you _not_ to do that while I'm still in heat," she muttered, even at her own feeling of disappointment. "_Especially_ given what we're talking about right now."

"I know, I know," Toothless replied with a huff. After that, there was a moment of silence, until eventually Ace spoke up again.

"They don't need to know," she told him, and he nodded.

"That's what I thought," he said, silence returning after he said that. Apart from the wind, of course. The two then sat there for a moment as Ace leant further into him and wrapped her tail around him, leaving the two of them smiling even in their exhaustion. At that moment, nothing could come between them.

"This is really... relaxing," she murmured, feeling herself drift off. "By the way..." she began, an audacious grin on her lips as she opened her eyes and whispered in his ear. Unsurprisingly, Toothless found his face heating.

"Is that so?" he asked tersely, Ace's grin increasing at his short reply.

"Yep," she replied, nodding. "Anyway, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"What? Oh, right, right..." Toothless trailed off, finding what he had intended to say. "Okay, Ace, I just needed to prepare you for something... someone on the ship that is returning sometime today," he said, watching her nod in reply. "They'll probably be back at any moment, but anyway, someone who was captive at the base. His name is Amaré... and to be clear – he's nothing like his father, and in fact despises him – but let me be blunt here... he's _that's_ son."

"Okay."

Toothless blinked in surprise at her reply. "O...kay?" he questioned and she nodded.

"Yeah, why did you think that would be a problem?" she asked.

"Uh... well," Toothless began, trying to find his reasoning. "I just wanted to make sure you were prepared, because he has the same brown eyes and it even caught me off guard, that's all." After a few moments, Ace smiled again.

"Well, thank you for your concern," she said, leaning back into him again. Toothless smiled as well, nuzzling into her neck.

"Oi didn't I just tell you not to do that," she muttered, a flat expression on her face.

"Didn't you also just tell me-" he began and her face turned red.

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, digging herself into him further. Toothless chuckled as he looked off into the distance, noticed two objects in the sky. _Looks like Viri and someone, _he thought to himself before he discarded it and just enjoyed the view of snow as he let his eyelids drop to the sound of Ace's soft snores beside him.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the ship somewhere out at sea, a certain individual sat below deck, enjoying the darkness as he let it rejuvenate his mind. After the excitement of meeting the rest of his family and finally having it become whole again, Claire was criticising his impulsive expressiveness. _It was pretty exciting, though,_ he admitted to himself. Altogether he had concluded it wasn't a bad thing his happiness levels were so high they had burst so uncontrollably. _Praze and Sym are so cool, though. Calm and collected, always, _he thought. Then his mind pictured another black form, and a scowl came across his face. _Damn that brat, though, thinking we're the same just because we're __both young._

Of course, that was exactly what Amaré had thought, approaching Claire with his amazement at the massive explosion that concluded their escape. Yes, Claire had agreed, but the overall _fragility _Amaré exuded made him cringe. Then again, he had overheard something about Amaré wanting to kill himself when Viri had spoken to Shiro, so he was certain that the eleven-year old's fragility wasn't without reason. _Still, I can't stand it,_ Claire thought as he curled up and waited for the ship to finally reach its destination. As he settled into the darkened corner, he looked over to the other side of the room to where the other occupant had just started to wake, causing a brow to rise.

The human began to move about more and more, until eventually he sat upright, a yawn escaping his lips as white hair covered his eyes. He then got up from the bed, having to brace himself up against a wall to stop himself falling over until eventually he turned his gaze to where a presence had stimulated his senses. "Oh, hello," the man, who seeming to be in his mid-twenties, murmured his greeting.

"Hi," Claire replied, not bothering to move. "They're all upstairs and waiting for you."

"Okay, thanks," than man muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck, stretching in all manner of ways before eventually turning back to Claire. "I'm Yoshino, nice to meet you," he said, continued his stretches.

"Claire."

"How old are you, Claire?" Yoshino asked as he changed out his bloody shirt for another from the chest by the end of the bed.

"Four, and before you start getting all cute with me, I'm not some kid, thanks," Claire told him, and Yoshino could do nothing but laugh.

"Ha, you remind me of my wife," he replied, walking over to the door. "Cya later, Claire."

For a second, Claire just laid there until his stupor caused his brow to rise once more and his head to move out from where his tail had hidden all but his eyes. _What a weird guy_, he thought, letting out a sigh as he put his head back under that cover of his tail and tried to get some sleep before they arrived.

As he made his way up the staircase, Yoshino found the sun blinding on his unacclimated hazel eyes. "Goodness that isn't the most pleasant of things to wake up to," he murmured, causing several pairs of eyes to turn to him.

"It's a pain in the ass to have to do this all by myself, you can take over now that you're awake," Arc's voice called from the top of the stern. Yoshino smiled.

"I've been stuck in darkness for who knows how long-"

"One week."

"-and I just don't see how this is helpful for my recovery, especially while I'm still aching and practically blind," Yoshino continued after her interjection, a smile on his face as he climbed the stairs to where she was standing at the wheel.

"Your eyes are probably still far better than mine even now," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

"You're certainly right if you haven't seen that land yet," he told her, causing her to pick up the telescope near her before going silent.

"No, I didn't," she muttered shortly, punching him in the shoulder. "You steer," she told him as she walked off, leaving a look of disappointment on his face.

"Arc!" he exclaimed tiredly. "Do I not even get a hug?" he asked in mock dismay.

"Nope," she replied shortly. "I'm going to go get some rest because I didn't get any after saving your sorry ass."

"Ouch," Shiro spoke up, causing Yoshino to notice he was there.

"Oh, hey Shiro," he greeted the Night Fury, yawning as he slouched over the wheel. "Hey Lilith," he added when he finished his yawn.

"Hello, Yoshino," she greeted him. "Been a while now, but it was certainly a coincidence we were being held in the same place."

"Mhm, when I saw you last you were both forty-ish, how old are you now?" he asked, not caring for much other than actually being able to breathe fresh air again.

"We're both nearly five decades old now, but I don't know why you're using that as a reference," she replied.

"I don't know half the stuff I'm saying," Yoshino replied bluntly as he left the wheel. "Can one of you keep the wheel straight? That would be much appreciated, as I don't think I can stand for much longer."

"Sure thing," Shiro replied, taking the time to orient into human form and walk his way up to it, feeling a large sense of excitement. But before he could say anything, Lilith spoke up.

"Please don't kill us all."

"Oh shush, I can do this!" he exclaimed in reply. "All I need to do is keep it straight!" he yelled over the wind that had suddenly picked up, and Lilith couldn't help but roll her eyes.

After a few moments, Yoshino was under deck and feeling confused. He dropped his aching head into his palm before it came back to him, and he realised he knew the confines of the ship like the back of his hand. _What are you doing, idiot, _he thought to himself with a smile. _Torture may not work on me, but it's certainly disorienting. _After a few more moments, he found the room he was looking for and walked inside, finding Arc sprawled on the bed in exhaustion.

"Who's steering?" she asked, her voice muffled from being face-down on the covers.

"Shiro is, and it shouldn't be too hard for him to keep the ship straight," Yoshino replied. "The younger dragon in the spare room; Claire, is he...?"

"Lilith and Shiro's? Yah." She then rolled over onto her back, watching him as he came around to the side of the bed and laid down next to her. "Last we saw them, they told us they had two twins about ten years old, and their eldest was off somewhere," she added, rolling onto her side to look at him. "This rescue mission we got Lilith and one of the twins out. The other had been lost, apparently, but he was there and so was the eldest, now they're all reunited."

"And now we're reunited," Yoshino said, rolling over so he was over the top of Arc, who was lying on her back. He smiled cheekily, and Arc couldn't help from returning it.

"Yeah. How are you feeling? I noticed you had quite the colourful..." she began, but she trailed off as he leant in closer to her face and gently pressed his lips against hers. They stayed like that for a few moments until Yoshino pulled back and smiled. "... shirt."

"Much better now..." he trailed off, a smile on his face as he fell onto his side and shut his eyes. Arc turned her head slowly and smiled, finding him to be fast asleep already.

"Sleep well," she murmured, rolling onto her side as she settled next to him and closed her eyes.

* * *

"So, why aren't you constantly being annoying?"

"I'm just going easy on you since you're a cripple."

Praze let out a sigh, finding himself exhausted at the thought of having to keep going to get any straight answers. They were now both on the beach, as it was far too stuffy inside the log cabin, and the soft sound of the sea and the salty breeze were doing wonders for Praze's mental and physical health. "No, that isn't true," he said, turning to look at her. She was leaning back on one hand, her legs extended out on the sand, the other hand drawing in it. After a few moments, she stopped and let out a sigh before continuing to stare down at the sand.

"Yeah, well, I'm not normally so jesting, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that it's a rare occasion," she replied. "Now that I'm not under so much stress, and now that the mental side effects of those poisons are no longer taking their toll, I guess I've finally tamed back to normal."

"I guess that makes sense," Praze murmured. "One thing I can't get my head around is why the Decree would let a Night Fury go, given that their main goal is to eradicate us all," he thought aloud. "And a female, at that," he added, causing her head to turn.

"Why does gender matter?" she asked.

"Well, if you think about it from their perspective, as a female you're able to bring more Night Furies into existence, and I don't understand why they'd just let you go..." he trailed off, turning his eyes to where Hannah had stood up suddenly. "What's up?" he asked, but she just turned away and started walking.

"I'm going for a walk." With that, she continued her way along the beach, Praze's eyes following her as she went. _We were talking, but sure,_ Praze thought as he shut his eyes and laid his head down on the sand.

As Hannah walked away, she let out a sigh. Once she'd walked away far enough and was sure Praze wasn't looking anymore, she brought her hand up to her eyes and wiped her eyes. _Well, they didn't just "let me go", _she thought, feeling a chill go up her spine when her bare feet touched the cool water. At the feeling, she also realised a feeling that she couldn't remember. The feeling of flight.

Of course, she'd flown with Toothless as 'Gold', but during that time her head had been so messed up she couldn't remember. "It's getting late in the afternoon, but it would be nice to go for a flight..." she thought aloud, trailing off as she pondered something. _If I do, I'll ask Praze to join me if he's recovered enough, _she thought. _Apparently he hasn't been able to fly for quite some time, according to Silva, but now that the energy's gone he can safely orient back into his original form. I'm sure he'll appreciate that, and Sym will certainly appreciate it too. How rough... having to spend more time away from him after only just finding him again. Well, I'm certain it works both ways, so a flight would certainly do something for Praze. _

After a short while, Hannah finally looked up and turned around, watching as her footsteps disappeared with the waves. _The beach is such a soothing place,_ she thought. She thought about Berq, wondering what she would do once she finally got there, but before long her smile faded as she realised something. _Of course, I'll have to answer to that..._ She started walking again, back towards where she and Praze had been sitting. _I'll tell him,_ she thought. _Not now... but I'll tell him before we leave. He should be able to help me figure out what I'm going to do..._

"Head cleared?" Praze's voice cut through her thoughts, and she realised she was already back. Her eyes widened momentarily, knowing that Praze had figured she had been upset for whatever reason, but they returned to normal when she realised he wasn't going to pursue any further unless she wanted him to.

"Yeah," she replied shortly.

"Mhm, the waves really do help soothe," he murmured, turning onto his side to face her. "Anyway, later on I'm going to see if my body is up for flying, and I would appreciate it if you came with me just in case anything were to happen." _And it should really help clear my thoughts, and yours._ He didn't really care anymore about his true form being observed, and he knew that Hannah was probably hurting just as much as him. Flying was one of the best things for clearing Night Fury heads of pretty much anything negative.

"Really?" she asked, and he nodded. Hannah was certainly surprised, but she didn't let it show.

"Mhm. What say you?" he asked, a smile on his face. _Well, it's hard to say no when this is practically the first time you've smiled at me. Not that I'd say no anyway, _she thought.

"Sounds good," she replied. "So anyway, how'd you come across this place? I've noticed there aren't any other dragons here, so it would have to be an unos-whatever island or whatever Sym and Shiro call it."

"Excuse me?" Praze asked, a brow raised. "Is _unostentatious_ the word you're looking for?"

"That's the one!" she exclaimed. "So, do you know what they are?"

"Nope."

"Well, an unostentatious island is an island that can only be acknowledged by Night Furies and non-sentient beings," she told him, and his eyes narrowed as he looked up at the sky as he understood.

"Well, I've had my suspicions about it being such an island, but didn't actually think it had a name," he replied. "It always puzzled me that I never saw any other dragons here. It actually doesn't even surprise me that much, considering all of our abilities are far more impossible."

"Very true, you make a valid point," she commented. "You know, apparently one of the things Viri was doing when he left was cataloguing different abilities. I really don't get where they get their information from, though," she added.

"That's always puzzled me too, actually," he told her, mindlessly drawing in the sand. "I've always wondered how he and Shiro both get their information. They've always said it's '_from the stars_' but I've no clue what they're talking about."

"Yeah, well, one time when I asked him," she began, sitting down on the sand once more, "he told me that only a few were able to do a thing called _commiseration_. Basically, to those with the skill, they can basically _feel _what the information is. It just comes to them, mostly out of nothing, and ideas form in their head that haven't come from them."

Sitting silently, Praze tried to think on what Hannah was telling him. A lot of it made quite the sense, and Praze had certainly stipulated on half the stuff Hannah had mentioned back when he first found Amicus and had plenty of time to think on all the things his parents had taught him. He had thought rather hard on such things back then, especially considering he had thought their teachings were all he had left of them at that point.

Those thoughts caused him to think about what he would say to the both of them when he returned to Berq. He had only spoken briefly to Shiro, but he was yet to even say a word to Lilith.

"I can hear you thinking from here, hurry up and articulate," Hannah murmured as she fell onto her back and spread her limbs out, slowly moving them to create a figure in the sand. After a second, he slowly looked at her and stared at her. She turned to him again and laughed at his unamused expression. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

"I was just thinking about them," he replied. After a moment, he realised she didn't know who he was talking about and continued. "My parents. I spoke momentarily to Shiro, but I still haven't said a word to Lilith..."

"Well, they haven't really been too worried about you," she told him. "Wasn't like your life was in danger or anything, and they knew they'd find you _and_ Viri again someday. And now they have."

"Yeah, I guess. But still... the way Claire reacted... I hope he doesn't grow up to be like Shiro and Viri," he murmured.

"How so?" Hannah asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Very spontaneous, touchy-feely, loud, incredibly ethical etcetera," Praze replied, and was momentarily surprised when he heard Hannah laugh beside him.

"Oh, you've nothing to worry about," she replied. "He's still young, so a major event such as seeing his older brothers for the first time certainly caused him to act differently than usual. Honestly, it was rather surprising to see him act in such a way, considering he's often quieter than you _and _Sym."

"Is that so?" he questioned, and she nodded. "Well, there's another one of us that takes after Lilith," he murmured, leaning his head back on the sand as he closed his eyes. For a few moments they both just sat in silence, but soon the silence was disrupted like it usually was.

"Praze," Hannah began, the obvious change in tone causing Praze's head to swivel. "I need your help with something... you remember the blacksmith apprentice that was killed on Berq?" she asked in a low voice, and his brow raised.

"What about him?" he asked, and Hannah couldn't help but divert her eyes.

"Well... I-I... I was the one that..." she then trailed off, the guilt suddenly becoming almost unbearable. There was a silence for a few moments, and neither of them spoke.

"I thought so," Praze suddenly murmured as he let out a sigh, resting his head back. Hannah's eyes widened, and she turned to him with surprise written all over her face. "What's that look for? It was kinda obvious, and Viri told me that you had the knife and tried to kill Toothless with it on the night of the fireworks," he told her, but she continued to sit silently. "Actually, no. It wasn't you. So if that's what you're worried about, don't bother wasting space in your head by thinking about it. Was it unfortunate? Surely. But the fault wasn't yours, so don't blame yourself. And I can handle talking to whoever doesn't agree with that when we get back to Berq. Sound good?"

Hannah tried to answer, but she couldn't. She was sitting there silently, too shocked do anything, too confused to say anything. It took her a few moments, but eventually she was able to turn her head to look at him again, only to be surprised once more by the smile she was greeted with.

"Hurry up and articulate," he told her, his face suddenly blank and serious. After that, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Very funny," she murmured sarcastically. "But Praze..."

"Are you worried about what Toothless will think?" he asked. "He and Viri had discussed the possibility that you were the one that did it, and they both agreed with me when I told them it was the most likely scenario. I have also already told them that it was, maybe not in literal terms, but I told them that it was the poison – even the Decree – that murdered the apprentice that night. So trust me when I tell you that they're with me on this one. You've enough on your mind without having to worry about anything right now, so, I'll tell you what. Let's go," he said, standing up suddenly. Her eyes followed his movements, her head finally overcoming what she had been struggling with.

_And it's all thanks to you,_ she thought as she watched him stretch. "_Let's go _where?" she asked, standing also.

Praze looked at her for a moment before smiling. _Good, back to normal,_ he thought. _But this is so weird... I feel so much different compared to before I realised that energy... maybe it was affecting me mentally also? Either way, I can think on it later... for now... _He then took a deep breath and, reaching for the scale around his neck, he cast away any doubts he had about what he was going to do.

Beside him, Hannah's breath caught in her throat. Whatever she was thinking was cut off when Praze's body was engulfed in white, and she almost couldn't think at all when the large, darker body of a Night Fury appeared in front of her.

"Go where? Flying, of course."

* * *

**A/N**

**Well, there we have it. Sorry for the absence, but anyone mature enough will be able to see past the surface and realise that the one providing the entertainment has a life of their own to live out. So please, no whining or complaining about how long it took me to update.**

**Thanks to:**

**HTTYDLOVER22 - Glad you enjoyed. The story has probably just hit more than halfway, and I have thought up ideas for a sequel. **

**King Tyras - Possibly. Possibly not. Glad you enjoyed.**

**mathmonkey167 - "**I was anticipating a little more conflict with Drago and the Bewilderbeast, so I figure either that wasn't supposed to be particularly important or you just wanted to write about something else haha." **You are absolutely right on both counts. And yas, same thing applies to what followed that. And yas again, it makes sense to me so maybe I was just too lethargic at the time of writing it that I couldn't be stuffed explaining it properly. And thanks again, maybe those questions will be answered in due time.**

**Sag1ttar1us - I'll have to start calling you the p3. (Palindromic Pun Prestidigitator)**

**Spirit of Fury - Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it,**

**HTTYDWin - Thanks, glad you enjoyed.**

**QuiteARandomFan - Well, well, well. Firstly, thank you. Secondly, half of my response may not make sense because I am tired right now. **

**Anyway, I agree that the first half was probably more enjoyable. But soon enough the abstract will become simple and you'll come to enjoy the rest of the story like you did, and even more so, than the first half. **

**Glad you liked the _fireworks_ ;). And yes, Praze is finally becoming a more realistic character again. I'm certain you'll enjoy what's to come. **

**And with Amare and Ace, I guess we'll just have to see. Though I do suppose we kinda know how it'll turn out now ;)**

**sagemanxp - Thanks, but maybe those things just haven't been explained _yet_ ;)**

**Guest - I can understand that the story might not be as easy to follow, thus causing you to not have much more to say about it, but thanks anyway and I'm glad you enjoy my work.**

**Guest (****D****orkaliciousGeekGirl) - Well now you've finally got your update, I'm glad you enjoy it.**

**Guest - Thanks.**

**Zeta warrior 16 - I think you speak for most of the readers, thanks for the review.**

**Well, that's it for this time. I hope you are all looking forward to the next, thanks again.**


	36. Part Two - End: Amelioration (11)

**Part Two #11 - End – Amelioration**

* * *

**A/N**

**I apologise for the long absence. I have found myself rather preoccupied with other things, not to mention another work I recently did and published, and I haven't been able to finally write what I wanted to in this chapter due to a lack of many things, including undivided attention.**

**Well, in other news, I turned eighteen today. That happened. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter I worked rather intensely on. It was incredibly hard trying to get a certain part of this right, specifically because it was very hard to emulate personalities so situationally. You might pick the scene. **

* * *

As Sym laid on Praze's bed, exhausted, she found herself filled with a sudden lethargic happiness. She wasn't sure exactly why, but she knew that her flight with Viri had certainly contributed to the feeling. After being cooped up inside the Decree's base for so long, cooped up inside her human body, she had found herself longing for the feel of a breeze on her scales. So when she finally felt it, it certainly soothed her. Everything seemed to be going well, everything seemed to have changed. Her recent life before had been monotonous, boring, and uneventful. Occasionally, Hannah was able to bring her out of her laziness and into momentary enjoyment, but just like the languishing snow it never lasted long. Her depression would have been a constant reminder for the rest of her life.

That reality was all Sym could ever think of for her future. That was until she found the part of her that had sundered so long ago. She couldn't deny that when she saw Praze again for the first time, she almost completely collapsed, wanting to just lay in his embrace and cry away the years of pain. But she had always been the stronger one, and it was evident she still needed to be when _he_ was the one that had broken down in front of her on that fateful night. They had always been together, always a part of each other ever since they both broke the constricting walls of the egg they had shared. Although the egg had been larger than usual, it hadn't been large enough for the two of them and made it several times harder for them to break their shell. Which, of course, was what caused their shared innate claustrophobia.

Rolling over from her back to her stomach, Sym couldn't keep herself from smiling. She couldn't stop thinking about finally being able to actually talk to him again, share her thoughts, feelings, concerns, ideas, fly with him, spar with him, laugh with him. But her smile soon faded when she realised something else, and she knew she would have to deal with it. _In due time,_ she thought, finding herself filled with shame. _Can I really take that back, even if I didn't truly mean it__? _After a few moments of her sitting there in her thoughts, she noticed a light knock at the door.

"Sym? It's me, can I come in?" a voice asked, and Sym recognised it to be Viri's.

"Go ahead," she replied, her voice tired but carrying, and the door opened to the red-orange glow of the late afternoon. It was almost sunset, and the colour almost looked like fire, but even still the glow could not compare to the deep blood-red of the eyes it reflected on. Viri closed the door after himself and turned to see Sym now slumped on the couch. "So, to what event do I owe the pleasure of a second visit?" she asked, but before he could answer she held her hand up to stop him. "Wait, let me guess, the boat has finally arrived?"

"Yes, actually, good guess," he replied with a smile. "Silva and Ace went to greet them at an old port where we had cast off; somewhere they wouldn't cause a scene. Around here, it's kind of a big thing to have more Night Furies here, which is why we couldn't fly around the whole island earlier."

"That makes sense... how many Night Furies are the general populace aware of?" Sym then asked, and Viri had to think for a moment.

"Well, just Silva and Ace," he replied. "In the three years he's been here, Praze hasn't once gone inside the Village, with the only exceptions being when it's late at night and not a soul to be seen and when we hold a meeting in the chief's house, of which he doesn't even turn up half the time. He's not exactly required to be there, and when he doesn't see a need to be then he won't involve himself with others."

"Well, obviously," Sym murmured. "Normally I would criticise when people tell me more than I asked for, but you were helpfully informative so I'll let it slide," she added, and Viri could only raise his brow to that.

"You two are so similar, which makes sense, but to the extent I've observed – it's incredible..." he murmured, and Sym could only cock her head to the side in confusion.

"How so?" she asked, and he laughed.

"Similar words, too," he muttered with a smile. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll find out in due time, but I can let you in on some things; you _physically_ look very similar, and you both have incredible eyes."

"Not so bad yourself, or any Night Fury for that matter. But, anyway, what were you meaning to tell me about the ship's arrival?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I was just letting you know because I think Claire's gonna come here and join you while we sort things out in the Village," he told her. "You're alright with that?"

"Of course. It's not exactly my home."

"Well, alright then," he began with a smile, "I'll take my leave now." And with that, he slowly faded into a blue haze, leaving her alone in her thoughts. She was particularly interested in some of the things Viri had told her not only just then, but earlier during their flight. A smile appeared on her face, and her eyes narrowed as they took on a sadistic glow. _Let's rend the Decree from existence._

* * *

"For those of you who don't know, I am the chief over this island, and Toothless is the Alpha. He and I both work together to maintain the peace between the dragons and humans here on Berq. I'm here right now to tell you all that a meeting will be held tonight where the main points of discussion will be a debrief of the rescue, as well as issues regarding our next moves, but for now, I'm certain you are all tired are want to rest. So, we have arranged accommodation for all of you which Toothless will direct you to once I leave, as I am currently held up in other matters. Apart from that, I hope to see you all tonight, and I'll have someone come for you all when it's time. Please, enjoy your stay."

With that, Hiccup left them all, the three Night Furies, Lilith, Amaré, and Claire, with Shiro in his human form, Yoshino, and Arc, in the small clearing by the shore. They were left with Toothless and Ace, who smiled at the new guests. "Well, you heard him. Yoshino, Arc, I'm sure you two are just going to stay on the boat for now so that just leaves you four," Toothless said, looking at Shiro, Lilith, Claire, and Amaré.

"Then we'll take our leave and see you at the meeting," Arc said, tugging an exhausted-looking, barely awake Yoshino behind her as the two disappeared below the deck of their ship.

"Alright, so, you all have several options, but there are rules. Currently, Ace and I are both the only Night Furies publicly known on Berq and having more will only cause a reaction from the citizens," Toothless began, receiving nods from all but Amaré, who didn't really get it. "We-" Toothless started but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Viri beside him.

"Oh, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" he asked, seeing his slightly annoyed face.

"I was only just getting started, but what do you want?" Toothless asked.

"I was just gonna take Claire now like we arranged earlier," he told him, and Toothless nodded as Viri turned to his youngest brother. "Currently, while we're waiting for Praze and Hannah to return, we've arranged for you to stay at Praze's house with Sym. That sound good?" he asked, and the small Night Fury nodded.

"I'm interested in looking at what these humans live in, and if it's Praze's house it's gotta be far away from any unwanted disturbances," Claire murmured and Viri could only laugh.

"Right you are," he replied as Shiro spoke up.

"They're not back yet? What happened?" he asked.

"I'll discuss it all tonight, but they're both fine," Viri replied. "Anyway, let's be off, Claire," he added, leaning down to hold out his hand. Claire responded by placing the end of his tail in it, and after a second the two of them vanished.

"Well, he's gotten quite good at that," Shiro commented, turning back to Toothless. "As you were saying?"

"Anyway, we've arranged accommodation away from everything, dragons and humans alike," Toothless continued. "The only condition for staying here is that you remain unknown to the humans living here, but's up to your own discretion as to whether or not you make yourself known to other dragons."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Shiro replied, rubbing his chin. "I take it that we can visit the Village in our human forms, right?" he asked, and Toothless nodded.

"You just want to collect information, don't you?" Lilith asked, rolling her eyes. Shiro smiled cheekily in reply.

"Naturally."

"Anyway," Toothless continued. "That just about wraps up all I've needed to inform you about. But, only officially. In fact, I would like to speak to you both before tonight's meeting – if you could spare the time? I know it's a lot to ask, considering you've both just returned, but I feel this is something I should discuss with you before Praze returns."

"This concerns him?" Lilith asked, and Toothless nodded.

"I met him nearly four years ago, and I thought you might want to hear of those four years I've had to get to know him," he replied. "I wouldn't be saying this if Praze were normal, either. Sometimes he does concern me, but I'm sure it can only get better from here."

After listening to Toothless, Lilith eyed Shiro with a brow raised. "You don't want to, do you?" she asked, humour in her voice.

"I just really want to explore a bit!" Shiro exclaimed with a sigh.

Lilith then turned back to Toothless with a light smile. "Don't mind him, both he and I know that Praze is perfectly capable of independence, which is the reason for us not being so concerned all these years. Though... _Shiro..._" she trailed off, turning to him. "We _will_ be joining them. I'm quite interested in what he's been doing, and we _both_ know he won't tell us everything."

"Well, that is true... but I was kind of hoping to talk with Viri, too," Shiro replied.

"Of course, that is fine also, but you'll see him tonight anyway," Toothless told him. "May we?" he then asked, inviting them to follow him.

"Of course," Lilith replied before Shiro could say another word.

* * *

Hannah was speechless. Her gold eyes widened at the sight before her, until eventually she stopped and tilted her head as if she couldn't believe it.

"No way..." she murmured, and Praze raised a brow.

"What? Am I so amazing that you have no words?" he asked with a smirk, turning more to face her.

"No... it's just..." she began, not finding the words. "I just can't believe just how similar you are! If it weren't for your eyes, I would have thought you were Sym."

_Do I really look that much like a female? _Praze asked himself. "Well, we are twins. What else did you expect?"

"I know, I know," Hannah continued. "But you both seem to lack any profound physical features that would determine gender based on appearances only. You're both androgynous."

"Mhm, I suppose that's true," he said, but Hannah was no longer listening. She had tried to ignore them from the start, but the more she looked, the more she couldn't stop herself.

"Praze, are you alright?" she interrupted whatever he was saying, the question causing him to pause in confusion.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, uh..." she trailed off, unable to find a way to put it. "You're covered in wounds, and they still look quite fresh..." she trailed off again, staring at one wound in particular. It was a thin line that ran horizontal, right under his neck all the way across and despite it being the least recent, it was definitely the most interesting one.

"This is what happened to my body after I held in energy for too long," Praze told her. "I only had the chance to heal it last night, so of course the cuts are going to look fresh."

"What about that one," she murmured, and he instantly knew which she was talking about.

"Maybe another time," he replied. "For now, are you going to join me?"

She let out a sigh for a moment, before nodding. "Alright," she said, reaching for her scale. In a few moments, she was visible through the white light, and he could see her cracking her neck as it fully dissipated.

"Please remember to keep an eye on me," Praze began, unfurling his wings and stretching them out. "I have no idea whether or not my body will be able to manage flight just yet, but it won't hurt to test the boundaries and get a glimpse at what my recovery time will be like."

"After you, then," she replied with a smirk. "Just don't go injuring yourself; I'd like to get back to the others as soon as possible."

"Not in my plans, but I'm glad you're here at least," he told her, readying himself just as he realised how odd his words sounded. "In case something happens, of course."

"Got it the first time."

"Right," he murmured awkwardly, turning and taking a breath before jumping into the air, relieved to find his wings able to support him. He glimpsed behind him to find Hannah following, but was momentarily surprised to find how perfect her flying was before he turned back ahead of him and continued above the forest.

Like most Night Furies, Hannah's form was very lithe, but the beat of her wings was perfect. Her rhythm was flawless.

_She could beat me easily in a race,_ he thought before he remembered something. He turned around again and motioned for her to come up next to him.

"How do you feel?" she asked, matching her rhythm to his perfectly. For a moment, Praze was surprised at the gold of her eyes, which were far more pronounced in her original form than in her human form, but he shook it off with a smile.

"Much better. Although I do have this stiff joint in between my wing and shoulder, and it's been irritating me for ages," he told her before remembering what else he wanted to tell her. "Also, Hannah, do you remember when we were on the ship and Toothless said something about no one being able to beat in combat? Well, at least, in human form?" he asked and she raised a brow.

"What made you think of that?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking that I'd never be able to beat you in a race," he replied. "Anyway, what I was going to say is that he was making a joke. I mean, I might be good, but he was making it out that I was unable to be touched, which was just plain stupid."

"Is there a reason you needed to tell me this?"

"Did you not get enough sleep or something?"

"Shush. Why did you need to tell me?"

"Because you're the competitive type, and I know it would come up again eventually."

"Why not just tell me at that time, then?"

"Well, I don't know, does it matter?" He was waiting for her reply, but when he looked over to her, he noticed her staring at him. "What?"

"You're glowing blue," she told him, and the second she said it he could feel his head pound and he groaned at the pain, feeling the same feeling he got whenever he reconstructed. _Oh no_, he thought.

Hannah was about to say something more, but Praze suddenly disappeared from her view. She was shocked for a moment before she heard a loud _smack _and a crumbling sound, making her turn to the source of the sound, her eyes widening as she watched Praze's black form rolling down a cliff face and into the dense forest. "Praze!" she called out, rushing over to where she saw him enter the trees.

She broke through the canopy, landing and furling her wings as she looked for him. A groan alerted her to his whereabouts, and when she rushed over, she suddenly found herself filled with concern. "Praze!" she called out again. "What happened?" she asked, looking him over to check for his injuries. There was blood, which was worrying.

"I... don't know..." he groaned, rolling onto his legs and wincing at the pain. "It hurts... here..." he murmured, pointing with his tail to his back, just behind his left shoulder and just before his wing. "What does it look like?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"Lay down," she suddenly commanded, but he obliged. He was momentarily surprised when he felt her weight on him, and then he felt a slight sting as a weird sensation filled where he told her to look. After a few moments, it stopped and Praze began to feel the sensation of a wound regenerating. He then realised she must have cleaned out the wound for him, and he murmured his thanks. "You weren't going to close that wound by yourself," she told him. "Anyway, that was the only serious injury. The rest are superficial."

"Good..." he murmured, letting out a sigh.

"So... what was that?" she asked.

"I'd assume that was my body reacting to such strenuous activity for the first time in a while and for the first time without being charged up with a bunch of energy," he told her. "Bound to be a few mishaps, I just didn't think it would stuff around with my ability to reconstruct, though."

"So, what are your thoughts? Do you think you're able to reconstruct us back to Berq yet?"

He took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering. "Considering how I don't feel completely dead right now, I'd assume it's safe for me to use reconstruction. I'll just have to ease back into using my body like I used to."

"So you're pretty much just giving yourself a free ticket to be lazy?" she asked with a smirk.

"Precisely."

"Well, are we able to get back yet? It's starting to get dark, and I'd assume they're going to hold a debriefing tonight, too," she told him. "I don't want to miss that; I need to know everything if we're to continue."

"Continue what?" Praze asked, confused before she looked at him.

"To destroy the Decree at the heart... what Sym and I have just started to do before we got caught snooping around in their base," she replied. "But... we found out the name of the one in charge of the whole operation."

Praze's eyes widened slightly when he heard those words, curiosity taking over. "Which would be?"

"N'vara. Now we have a target..." she trailed off with a smile. "If it weren't for him and his knowledge of us, the whole operation would fall apart. He's the charismatic leader of the Decree that can turn anyone, even if they have to negative experience against Night Furies, into devout followers. If we take down him..."

"... the Decree is done for, right?" Praze finished for her, and she smiled.

"Yep. Anyway, are you going to get us to Berq now?" she then asked, and he nodded.

"Alright. Change back into human form and I'll put us in my house," he told her as he oriented, feeling a relief that nothing bad happened when he did so. He looked up to Hannah, who had already oriented also, and held out his hand. "Ready when you are."

She gave him a momentary smile before her expression changed to a more serious and concerned look. "Are you sure you're okay to go yet? Even if you get us back, I don't want you to die when we get there," she said, and he smiled in reply.

"I'm fine, don't worry," he told her, and she nodded as she took his hand. "Let's go, then."

* * *

Far away from the island that is Berq, a large port town's lights shone through the darkness of night, cobbled streets desert. The large ruckus of the town's famous tavern inn, the Tabibito, could be heard during the late hours as multitudinous travellers from abroad came and drank their fill of alcohol whilst laughing along to the night's entertainment. That night there was a musical jester, who comedically sang tales that wooed the drunken audience and earned themselves a hefty sum. Not only from the audience but from the innkeeper who profited from the constant patronage of customers, kept there by the performer's thespian works.

_An effective ploy. _

A seemingly young man, dressed in black, leant on the wall in a darkened corner with the brown woollen scarf he was wearing pulled up to hide the lower half of his face. Let's call him Black. His long-sleeved black shirt that went halfway down his thighs was held down at his waist by a leather belt, which held up his thin skin-tight black pants. He let out a little giggle at something the jester had sung as the whole tavern erupted in laughter, which he quickly staunched when he noticed three men stand up and head towards the innkeeper's counter to pay for their drinks. He silently left the corner he was in and walked out the door, turning to the left and walking into the alleyway slightly.

For a few moments, he waited. Then the sound of the door opening and talk from the three men caused him to turn, waiting for them to walk towards the alleyway. And just as they were, he stepped out, causing one of the men to bump into him.

"Whoa, look what we have here," the man who was bumped into said as Black stepped back, appearing to be frightened.

"I-I'm s-sorry, I-I didn't m-mean to!" he exclaimed, stepping backwards further into the alleyway.

"Now, now, we can't have people just running into me, can we boys?" the man said, following Black into the alleyway further as the two behind him sneered and chorused their agreement. "Oh, is that a woollen scarf?" he then asked, smirking.

"O-Oh, u-uh, yes – yes it is!" Black, who also had dark black hair, exclaimed in fear as he continued walking back. "My aunt m-made it for me... I-I... I don't want a-any trouble, please? I-I'm sorry?" he continued to stutter.

"Well, well, I suppose it would be only fair to hand it over to the lads you wrongfully ran in front of, as atonement, right boys?" the man continued, receiving further approval. "Sorry kid, bad things happen to those who do bad things. It's just karma."

After hearing this, Black smirked behind his scarf at the irony before he continued. "B-But this was a-a present-"

The larger man made his move. He moved forward, rather fast for how intoxicated he was, as he went for a large right swing at his face. At the last second, Black dodged the fist and punched right under the larger man's ribs, hitting both his diaphragm and his stomach, before moving out of the way and allowing him to fall on his knees and hurl up the contents of his stomach.

Black turned to the others, an apologetic look on his face as he moved forward and went down on his hands and knees in front of the other two. "I-I'm sorry for getting in y-your way, but it looks l-like your friend had too much to drink... maybe I could s-show you to the town infirmary to m-make amends?"

"Yeah right, kid!" the man on the right, as Black had predicted, ran forward and lifted his right leg, ready to kick his face in. Once more, at the last second, Black dodged the kick and moved his leg in a sweeping motion to hit the man's left ankle, causing him to begin to fall towards the ground. But before he did, in a swift motion, Black jumped up and grabbed the man's head and pulled it down to the ground with a sickening thud. He stood once more, turning to the final member as they pulled out a knife, anger all across his face.

"You don't know who you're messin' with, asshole!" he yelled, running towards Black with a sadistic grin on his face.

"Actually, I do," he replied as he stepped to the side, the knife stabbing into the air where he was only milliseconds ago, before he grabbed the man on his shoulder, manoeuvring his fingers in past the bone and squeezing gently. "You're Gilles de Rais, the serial killer who's been killing the children of this town," he said as he caught the man's now limp form. "Of course, I have no need to kill your friends, they don't even know who you really are."

"Wha... did you..." Gilles muttered, barely able to speak. Black dragged him by his collar over to where there was a small puddle from when it had rained earlier before lowering him, face down, into it. Black smiled as he watched bubbles begin to form on top of the water by the sides of Gilles' face, happy with the scene before him. To any outside observer, it would just seem like the three had all drunk too much and one was unfortunate enough to fall asleep in a puddle and drown himself. It had taken Black a while to perfectly set this up, including finding where the men were staying to know which way they'd walk.

After a few more moments, Black noticed the bubbles stop coming from the water and he smiled. "A mere few centimetres of water is all you need to drown," he snickered as he walked away into the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, Praze and Hannah stepped into the warmly-lit cabin of Praze's with smiles, glad to be back at Berq finally. Two sets of eyes turned onto them, ready to give their greetings, but before they could, Praze was on his hands and knees as a heavy cough cast blood onto the floor.

"Praze!" Hannah and Sym yelled congruently as the latter appeared by his side and put his arm over her shoulder, helping him over to a seat by the table.

"I-I'll be fine, I just overexerted-" but that was as far as he got before his face dropped onto the table and his arms grew limp.

"Well..." Claire trailed off, blinking slightly as Hannah and Sym turned to him.

"Oh, hey Claire," Hannah greeted him.

"Hey, Han. He's going to be alright, right?" he asked, his tail swishing slightly at the commotion.

"He'll be fine, he just needs to rest," Sym told him, picking Praze up and disappearing for a moment, returning a few moments later. "I've just laid him down, he'll probably be up in the morning."

"Oh, okay," Claire murmured as he walked back over to the fireplace where he had sat before and laid down, promptly closing his eyes, leaving the remaining two to look at each other.

"Hey Sym-" Hannah began, but she was cut off by the sudden embrace she found herself in.

"I'm... so sorry, Han," she whispered, causing Hannah to smile as she hugged her in return.

"Well, this is rare, but I'm okay, Sym," she replied. "Trust me... I've... worked through things. You don't have to worry."

"Are you sure?" Sym asked, pulling back and looking into her eyes. "No one should have to go through that..."

"You should be more worried about your brother than me, Sym," Hannah told her. "You should see what happened to him because of the whole not-breathing-fire thing. It wrecked him pretty hard."

Sym was about to say something, but then she stopped for a moment and seemed to reconsider. "Anyway, you should get some rest as well. I'll fill you in on the debrief in the morning," she told Hannah, who nodded.

"I was hoping I wouldn't miss that, but I'm definitely feeling pretty... out of whack," she replied.

"I'm not surprised," Sym murmured, turning away with a sigh as she looked over at Claire. "I can fill you in, don't worry. Go get some rest. Follow me, I'll show you a nice spot."

Hannah was going to ask something else, but before she could she was reminded of how much Sym had been through, and decided she didn't need anything more to think about. "Alright."

Claire watched with one eye as they left before he opened the other eye and stood, stretching. He flew up to the inside balcony and looked at Praze's motionless human form, sprawled on the bed, before smiling. _Rest easy,_ he thought as he flew back down to the door and opened it, breathing in the fresh air.

"Nothing like a nice walk at night," he murmured to himself as he shut the door behind him and ventured out into the dark, unaware of the malign eyes watching earnestly.

* * *

The debrief progressed smoothly. After Shiro and Lilith had arrived with Ace and Toothless after their discussion, the total present were: Hiccup, Viri, Amaré, Arc, Yoshino, Valka, Symphony, and the aforementioned. After everyone was informed of the current situation, the real discussion began.

_The Decree._

After all information regarding the Decree was made known, it was unanimous as to what needed to be done. Collectively, it was decided that a group, consisting of Arc, Yoshino, Ace, Toothless, Hannah, Praze, Viri, and Sym, were to travel to the mainland and locate the Decree's main base, and eliminate the man known as N'vara. That wasn't all, however, as Hiccup had something to say. The way he put it was, "the Night Furies need a safe haven from the Decree."

All agreed and as such, Shiro, Lilith, Amaré, Claire, were to stay behind and remain hidden until the rest of them destroy the Decree and its influences. So, feeling satisfied with their work, and deciding that the sooner they acted the better off the would be, those heading for the mainland to stop the Decree were to leave the next day. And as such, once all was said and done, the meeting was concluded with a wishing of a good night's sleep in light of the next day's tasks.

At least, that was what they had expected from the night until they heard a blood-curdling roar tear right through the night.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked as he stepped outside his house. "Most of the dragons should be sleeping now, I wonder what has it so riled up?"

"That wasn't a normal roar..." Shiro trailed off, puzzled. Lilith turned to him in confusion.

"You don't know what it is?" she asked. "I thought you could distinguish the difference between different dragons' roars?"

"I... I don't recognise it..." he replied, trailing off. He felt a great sense of unease that kept eating at him; a sense that something terrible was about to occur. He turned to Lilith, his face pale as he reached for his scale subconsciously. "We should go see what it is..."

Lilith raised a brow, somewhat disconcerted by the fact that Shiro felt he may need to orient out of his human form, and nodded. "Let's go, then."

"What's the commotion?" Viri asked as he appeared behind them, Sym just behind him.

"Something doesn't feel right," she said as looked at her parents' disquieted faces. It caused her to worry also as she followed the rest of them towards where they heard the noise.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, the quiet waves were interrupted by the sound of quick exhalation.

Praze sat upright in his bed, breathing heavily, his eyes wide and dilated, his hand clutching at his chest as a cold sweat washed over him. After he had calmed down, he realised it had only been a dream, and then wondered what he had dreamed about that could be so frightening. He let out a sigh, deciding it wasn't important enough if he couldn't remember before a sudden strange feeling encompassed his being. Something was wrong.

He jumped off his bed and ran down the stairs and out of the door without a second thought as he followed his senses.

* * *

"Ah, finally, someone has arrived."

"What do you w-want?" Shiro began, very unsure. The strange-looking dragon was slightly puzzled, considering there were three humans and a Night Fury in front of him, but nonetheless, he continued.

"I'm going to get right to the point," the spiny black and red dragon replied, holding Claire's unconscious body in hi front paws. "I want a full-grown Night Fury heart, and if I don't get what I want, this youngling will be cursed by my venom. He'll never be able to touch another dragon again without feeling excruciating pain, so if his parents are here, they should do what any parent would do and give themselves up for him."

Everyone was shocked at the strange dragon's words, but none of them doubted the legitimacy of such when Shiro reached for his scale and oriented in front of the dragon and eyed him seriously. Though, before he could say a word, the dragon spoke up again.

"Oh, so the rumour you can turn into humans is true? Then, surely your hearts can bring back the life of my mate!" the dragon then yelled, suddenly getting hysterical as Shiro watched anxiously. _This isn't good, _he thought. _I might not be able to tell him that legend is false without him getting enraged and hurting Claire... _On top of that, Shiro was having a moment where he was getting information. The dragon before him was an extremely rare species, thought to be extinct, that possessed vampiric qualities. Feeling a sense of dread, Shiro knew that the dragon wasn't lying.

"Please... calm down," Shiro began. "I-"

"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" the dragon yelled, snarling, smashing Claire's small body to the ground, causing the young night Fury to cry out in pain. Lilith had to stop herself from running out there at that moment, knowing that it would only cause more trouble and endanger Claire further. "Don't think you're the only ones that have special abilities, so don't even _think_ about trying any fancy shit," he said, his breath ragged. "You have a minute to put a Night Fury heart in front of me, or the youngling's future is _gone_."

"Idiot!" Sym yelled out, not only surprising the vampiric dragon but her family around her. "That's just a myth, concocted by years of uncertainty and legends! I know it sounds like I'm spouting lies to save him, but if you don't believe me, take me in his place," she told him, moving forwards. It was silent for a second, and the dragon's gaze softened, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the selfless sacrifice, or perhaps it was the result of the dragon thinking his mate was gone forever. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. His defence was lowered.

After a second of silence, the dragon was suddenly hit by a large black mass that sent him tumbling away from Claire before coming to a stop several metres away. He was disoriented for a moment before he came to his senses, finding himself pinned. Surprisingly, despite not being able to move, he smirked. "I expected this might happen... after all, Night Furies _are_ a superior species..." he trailed off, somewhat amused by his own words. "Either way, you're too late. I never intended to spare the youngling, and it should be taking effect right about now..."

Praze's blue-purple eyes moved from the dragon and widened slightly as he looked back at his younger brother writhing on the ground, surrounded by Shiro, Lilith, and Viri. He turned back to the dragon with rage in his eyes. "Tell me how to reverse it... _now_."

The dragon began to snicker, but it was quickly staunched when he took a powerful hit to his lower abdomen, unable to do anything about it but wheeze out a cry of pain as Praze held him down. "It's... irreversible..." he muttered with a gasp, unable to regain his breath from the winding.

"You have five seconds to tell me how to reverse it, whether you know how or not before I blow your head off," Praze threatened as he glared down at the dragon. But despite this, the dragon just chuckled, lying his head back against the ground. "So be it_._" As Praze began charging a plasma blast, the dragon made a last-ditch attempt to free himself by stabbing his claws at Praze's side, albeit completely ineffective. At the action, Praze pushed the dragon further into the ground with focused, slitted eyes and shot his plasma blast right at the dragon's throat, the body suddenly limp after being deprived of a head that rolled away from the impact.

As he stepped off the body, Praze closed his eyes and let out a sigh, turning to walk over to the others. _Damn it, _he thought, before he suddenly felt something odd. He quickly opened his eyes to find that his family had disappeared from his view, which had been replaced by forest scenery. He realised that he'd been reconstructed, but not by his own ability, and turned around just to see a white flash of light that made his eyes widen. Once it had dissipated, though, they narrowed. "Why did you bring me out here, and where are we? We need to get back to check on Claire."

"He has the rest of our family right now and we're only a little bit away; still on Berq," Sym told him as she walked towards him. "I needed to talk to you."

"About what?" Praze asked, sitting down. It was quiet for a moment as Sym sat down across from him, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She really didn't want to have to do this, but it was because of her own actions that she needed to, so she wasn't going to complain.

"About what happened just before the incident six years ago," she told him, averting her gaze.

* * *

_I watched from the sidelines as Praze practised what dad was teaching him, trying and succeeding after watching how dad had done it. I was glad he was progressing at the same pace as me and I smiled as I looked up at the sky, noticing how late it had become. I let out a sigh as I unfurled my wings and jumped into the invigoratingly cool night air, feeling the wondrous breeze against my scales I always felt from flying at night in the cold air. _

_Like always though, my flight ended before I knew it and I flew down to the little alcove I'd recently enjoyed relaxing at. It had a great view of the ocean, and in the moonlight it really made the water look quite majestic. I smiled again before I dove down to land under the cover of the cave-like structure, glad for the soft grass underneath my paws as I laid down on my stomach and looked out to the calm water. I took a deep breath of the night air, loving the feeling as it filled my lungs, before I closed my eyes and rested my head on my paws. _

_I stayed like that for a little while, until the sound of wing-beats caused me to let out a huff of exasperation. Apparently it took a lot to get some time to myself. Though, when Praze dropped down into view and landed in the cave beside me, that exasperation went away. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be training for at least another hour or so," I said as I watched him lay down next to me and let out a yawn. _

"_Dad cut it short because some dragons are playing up again and he needed to go sort them out," he replied as he laid his head on his paws like I had done earlier. _

"_Let me guess. Treeth again, right?" I asked._

"_Yep."_

"_That nightmare is an idiot," I murmured as I returned to my former position and closed my eyes once more. We sat in silence for a bit after that, which we were both perfectly content with, but it seemed that Praze had something on his mind._

"_Hey Sym, have you ever thought about a mate?"_

_My brow raised at that. Of the multitudinous, often philosophical things we talk about, this was the first of such nature. "What do you mean?"_

"_I mean, like, have you ever wondered what sort of mate you'd want, or how you would ever find a mate in the world we live in?" he clarified, and I somewhat got what he was trying to say. It was kind of hard, considering I was half asleep, but nonetheless, I answered his question. Fortunately, it had been something I had thought of before._

"_Well, I don't know if I'll ever really have the chance, or if someone I'll like enough even exists," I told him. _

"_Mhm, that's what I've thought as well. If anything, I'd at least like to know what it's like to mate, though, even if I don't find someone I want as a mate," he replied._

"_That's true, especially considering what mum and dad are like," I murmured lazily._

"_Did not need to be reminded, thanks," Praze told me as he whacked me with his wing. _

"_Yeah, sorry. Anyway, even if I just wanted to know what it's like, I wouldn't be able to mate with just anyone," I told him. "It would have to be with someone I trust, and even then, someone I trust would probably be a mate. So that kind of talk is kind of useless and paradoxical."_

"_Not necessarily," Praze murmured. "I mean, I can at least think of one I'd trust enough."_

"_Yeah, right. You don't know any other females besides myself and mum," I said, taking another deep breath of the wondrous night air. _

"_Obviously, I'd never even contemplate doing that with mum and just the though of that gives me the creeps," he said as he shook his head. "But... I mean, theoretically speaking, I guess I'd trust you." My previously closed eyes shot open when I processed what he'd just said and I turned to him. "I'd never do it or want to, though. I'm just saying that I pretty much trust you more than anyone else, you're not only my twin but my best friend, Sym. Just don't get too weirded out by what nonsense I'm spouting."_

"_I don't think it's nonsense, Praze. I suppose it's not so paradoxical if I'd trust you, too," I murmured as I returned to my original position. I could totally do that, though. Wait, what am I thinking?_

"_Wait, really?" Praze asked, disbelief in his voice. "Huh. Oh well, it's not like it matters, anyway. I didn't think talking about mates would produce such arbitrary prattle from us both. I mean, how did..."_

_Praze was still talking, but I wasn't listening. I didn't understand what I'm thinking, what thoughts are occurring in my head. I didn't understand what this feeling was. I didn't know what spurred my next words._

"_We could do it," I stated absent-mindedly, cutting off whatever Praze had been saying. _

"_What?"_

"_I mean, I wouldn't mind. If it's with you, and for the sake of knowing what it feels like, I would mate with you," I said. _

"_Sym, quit joking around, it doesn't matter anymore," he said, standing up. _

"_I'm being completely serious," I told him, standing also. "If we wanted to, we could even do it now."_

_Praze looked completely dumbfounded. "W-What, Sym? What's gotten into you? No, we can't-"_

"_Mum and dad won't come looking for us, and they're busy with politics anyway," I said, cutting him off. "We could just wash off in the water afterwards, and no one would be the wiser."_

_Praze was about to say something in protest further but was silenced when he saw the look in my eye. His mouth was open in disbelief, and I finally realised what the feeling I had was. Lust._

_I took a step towards him, but the second I did, he stepped back in fear. In an instant he had unfurled his wings and flew out of the alcove, leaving me in a slight stupor as I watched him disappear into the night. Then, the feeling faded, and I slumped to the ground, all strength in my body gone as it came to me. I fucked up really bad. _

_I stared at the ground with wide eyes, feeling a gaping hole in my chest from the irreparable damage I've just caused._

* * *

"Oh. Is that all?" he asked bluntly, causing Sym to look at him in slight confusion as he stood.

"This isn't some little thing we can simply brush off-"

"Yes, it is," he told her, cutting her off. "I've no doubt what happened that night wasn't of your honest intentions. If anyone's to blame, it's me for coming up with the topic."

"I-"

"In fact, with all the stress of what was going on then, it's a wonder _I _didn't crack under the pressure," he continued, ignoring her. "And I would have, if not for you. You kept my sanity in check, you were the mature one. We might be twins, but you're still the elder. One of us was going to crack and there was nothing we could have done about it. So why don't you stop blaming yourself and forget about what happened in the past, hm? Lamenting after the fact is only going to serve to fuck things up again, so it's best not for you to even _contemplate_ trying to shoulder the blame. I've had _years_ to think about how to refute each and every one of your pathetic excuses."

Sym could only stand in silence as she listened intently, owing him if only that. "Are you finished?" she asked softly, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"That depends on what you're going to say next." The corners of his mouth were barely containing the smirk she knew was staring her right in the face.

"Well, Praze, it's just... a little hard for me if you just accept and forgive me so straightforwardly after I've been so shattered by this for so long," she told him, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied by Praze's answer.

"You think my forgiveness is straightforward?" he asked her. "I was only putting things simply for both our sakes."

"Despite already knowing that, it doesn't make a difference to how I feel," she muttered as her shoulders slumped.

"Maybe so, but we both know that you didn't mean the things you said that night," he told her as he turned away. "You weren't thinking of or desiring me sexually; your trust in me became an object for aimless lust to fixate on. Nothing more, nothing less. You can either accept that... or..."

"... or?" she asked, watching as he turned his head to look at her with a glint in his eyes, a smile on his face.

"We'll have to settle this the old-fashioned way until you're forced to acknowledge there's nothing more to be said," he told her simply, to which she scoffed at.

"Oh really?" she murmured condescendingly. "I would've thought your plan to be a little more convoluted than that."

"Simplicity may not be intricate in and of itself, but isn't it remarkable at conveying the point?" Praze then asked her, causing her to laugh a little. Almost at the same moment, he pounced at her whilst she was distracted. Though, unfortunately for him, the moment he'd issued a challenge to her, she'd been on guard. With the slightest of smiles, Sym rolled onto her back just as Praze reached her and used her hind legs to flip him far past her, causing him to roll on the ground multiple times before coming to an abrupt, upside down stop against a nearby tree.

"What I did just then was _very simple_, and I agree it certainly conveys the point," she said, walking over to him as he watched her with a flat look on his face. "The point: I'm _still_ better than you."

"This is actually quite comfortable, I should thank you," he told her blankly, ignoring her comment. "It's really _quite_ relaxing on the spine."

She stared down at him for a moment, deciding not to bother continuing. "I'm glad." Praze tilted his head sideways the best he could whilst upside down, giving his best '_really?' _look. She ignored him, turning and walking away from him. "Well, since that's now off my mind, we should probably be getting back to see how Claire's doing."

Unbeknownst to her, Praze smiled to himself as he watched her orient into human form. _Well, it's not like I need you to verbalise it, but it would be nice to hear you say you're okay,_ he thought to himself as he rolled onto his feet and oriented. "I'm sure you're aware, but you'll have to take me there," he told her, holding out his hand. She turned around with a smirk as she grabbed it.

"Useless, aren't you?"

* * *

"So... how is he?"

Shiro let out a sigh as his rubbed his forehead with his hand, obviously under an amount of stress. "The process of the venom changing part of his biology was quite taxing and needless to say painful," he answered Sym, pacing in front of the fireplace in Viri's house. "He's asleep for now, but that dragon wasn't lying. When I tried to help Claire up, he was screaming for me to not touch him; that it hurt when I did."

Sym let out a shaky breath as she clenched her fists. "Before that dragon even tried bargaining with us, he'd already done it, hadn't he?"

Shiro nodded slowly, letting out a sigh. He was about to speak again but decided against it. He decided it was best not to show two of his children the extent of his sadness, something he would unavoidably do through the tellings in his voice. After all, having his youngest's future taken away was something very hard to deal with.

"We didn't need another tragedy in this family..." Sym trailed off, walking over to and slumping deep into a chair, finding herself phenomenally tired. "Well, I suppose Viri leaving isn't much of a tragedy in comparison to some things, but there are still a few, nonetheless."

"I just don't understand how this could happen..." Praze murmured, leaning against the wall. "I mean, how does something like this even happen?"

"There's no point in trying to understand a connection where there isn't one," she told him, slowly getting up. "For now, unless we're planning to postpone, I need to get some rest."

"Postpone?" Praze asked as he watched her walk over to the door. Shiro looked up, remembering that Praze didn't know yet.

"If you're going somewhere, why don't you take Praze to Hannah and tell them both what we're doing?" he asked and she stopped, turning to him.

"Mhm, sure," she muttered quietly. "Come on."

Praze obeyed and followed her out into the night.

* * *

The morning was cold, foggy, and quiet. As Ace, Toothless, Viri, Praze, Sym, Hannah, and Hiccup stood around Arc and Yoshino's ship, waiting for them to appear, none of them spoke a word. All of them knew what happened the night previous, and none of them felt like it was the right time to speak. That was until Arc and Yoshino appeared and broke the tense atmosphere.

"Woah, you're all here already? It's deathly silent out here!" Yoshino exclaimed, causing Arc to elbow him in the side.

"Well, we thought it best to get here early," Toothless explained, walking forward. "It's alright with you both if we get going now? I'd like us to make it to the mainland before it's too late, so we can get some accommodation at an inn."

Arc was about to respond but before she could, Viri blurted out, "Oh, we don't need to bother. I know a friend who can take us in on short notice. We're planning on making port in Kyoraan, right?"

"Yes, we are," Arc replied. "And that's good because you don't want to spend the night at the Tabi."

"You mean the Tabibito?" Viri asked and she nodded. "I'd heard it was pretty well-renowned."

"I've even heard of it," Toothless chirped in.

"They just stay open until almost morning, and the noise usually never stops," Arc told them. "Yoshino and I have stayed there once to try it but we didn't get any sleep, which is why wherever we prefer our ship, Pertriti."

"Who's this friend of yours, Viri?" Toothless asked, a brow raised. "Is it a she?" he asked with a somewhat suggestive tone and Viri pushed Toothless' inquisitive head away from him with a sigh.

"Yes, but she's a human," he said. "Her name's River, and I've known her for quite some time now."

"Given up on Ennis, have we now?" Sym asked, causing Viri to turn to her with wide eyes.

"You, _SHUSH_!" he whispered furiously.

"Who's this Ennis, Viri?" Toothless' inquisitive voice came from behind him and Viri's blood went cold.

"Basically his mate," Sym answered before Viri could say anything. "Until Viri just up and left."

"No WAY! You two didn't even meet her-"

"We did once, actually," Praze joined in, a smirk on his face. "I don't remember much of that, but I _do _know _all_ about her from our parents."

"Wow, and you didn't even tell _me_?" Toothless asked in mock dismay. "All this time I thought we were friends, Viri..." he trailed off.

"You can shut it, Silva," Viri told him, groaning into the palm of his hand. "Can we go already?" he asked Arc as he looked up at her.

"I was just about to say, but yes, we do need to head off sooner rather than later," she answered, walking on board her ship. "All of you can have a room to yourselves, or not, and pick any room apart from the master bedroom. If you could all board now, it would be much appreciated."

With that, she and Yoshino boarded, leaving the others to follow. Viri was unable to board in peace, however.

* * *

**A/N**

**Although I believe I have every right to update however sporadically, I believe it was fairly detrimental on the reader count because of _where_ my absence occured. I would say that this part of the story was very much "filler", with a few plot devices woven through. Fortunately, all that's about to change as we finally kick the story into gear. **

**I hope you're as pumped as I am. **

**As usual, thanks to my reviewers, but I will no longer be answering reviews in this section. If you have any questions you would like answered, please feel free to send me a PM. I answer any and all messages within reason. If you don't have an account, tough luck. If the question isn't important enough for you to take the two minutes it takes to create an account, don't bother. **

**That's all for now. Please leave your honest thoughts and opinions in the form of a review and enjoy yourselves until next time. **


	37. Part Three: Karma (1)

**Part Three - #1 Karma**

* * *

The night was cold and silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the sporadic creaks of the Pertriti's hull and the waves that were splashing up against it. Leaning on the railing, staring out to sea, was Viri, who was looking rather downcast as he let out a sigh. The only ones on deck were himself and Arc, the latter steering the ship when she called out to him, "We're nearly there, would you like to wake the others?"

"Sure thing," Viri replied as he turned to see the distant lights of Kyoraan shining through the fog. He turned, only to find Praze standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Are you reluctant to see this friend of yours?" the younger brother asked, letting out a yawn. "You seem a little down..."

Viri let out a short sigh as he looked down at the ground. "It's just... I haven't had the chance to visit her with all that's been happening... and I've only sent her a few letters, so, I guess I just feel a little bad about going and springing this on her out of nowhere."

"How long have you known her for?" Praze then asked.

"Well, it was just after I lost Silva and left the nest, so... about a decade and a bit?" Viri answered, scratching his head.

"Do you know if she likes you more than a friend?" he then asked and Viri raised a brow at that. However, to Praze's surprise, Viri didn't even question him.

"Most likely not," he answered. "She... was in love with someone until she lost him, and she's been searching for him for a while. Going out and looking was what she did for a long time, but she... she's been pretty close to giving up. So much so that she gave me her boat to use – the one back on Berq right now – and has generally been staying in her house in Kyoraan ever since. In fact... it always makes me wonder about Ennis and whether or not I should go look for her."

"So, you do still love her?" Praze asked as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, I told you that before." Praze looked up at him again before Viri continued. "Whether she's still alive or not, I won't know. I..." he trailed off for a moment, turning back to the sea. "I should have taken her with me, Praze. That... is my biggest regret."

There was silence for a few moments before Praze spoke up. "Hypothetically speaking..." he began as Viri turned, just in time to see the smirk that appeared on Praze's face. "If you two met again, how long do you think it would take before you became mates?"

Viri turned back to the sea with a groan. "Shut it, I don't even know if she'd still like me after leaving her like that!" he muttered furiously as Praze chuckled.

"That's why I said _hypothetically speaking_, but judging by your response I'd say you believe it wouldn't take too long," Praze quipped as he turned and walked towards the other rooms to wake the others. "Regardless, when this whole thing with the decree is over and done with, I'll help you find her."

Viri stopped, having been about to unleash a verbal assault on Praze for his insinuations, and just simply stood and watched him walk away. He then turned back to the sea with a smile on his face.

* * *

It took nearly half an hour sorting out docking permissions for the port but eventually Arc and Yoshino came back aboard with the news that they had permission to stay, before wishing the rest of the group luck. Shortly after, Viri, Praze, Toothless, Ace, Hannah, and Sym left the docks and walked into Kyoraan. The plan was for them to find out information regarding the decree then report back to Arc and Yoshino, who would then figure out where to go. But for the time being, they needed someplace to stay, which led them to the house built on the outskirts of the town.

"Alright, we're here, so stay back for a moment and let me do the talking," Viri murmured as they stopped by the ridge of the forest that stopped only a few metres from the house. He continued up to the door, stopping momentarily when he heard a slight sound. He could tell that someone was on the other side of the door but, even still, knocked on it as he called out. "River? It's me, can I come in?"

After a few seconds, the door opened slightly, and a tired, confused voice wafted out. "Ryu? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry for such late notice, River, but do you think I could come in?" he asked as the door opened fully, revealing the slender figure of a young woman with long black hair and bright cyan eyes.

"What even..." she trailed off, staring at him momentarily before placing her head in her hand. "It's been about three years since I last saw you and you just randomly turn up, unannounced, in the middle of the night?"

Viri laughed weakly, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. You see, we're really in need of a place to stay and I was hoping you'd be able to do me a huge favour, if only for tonight?" he asked and she let out a groan.

"I cannot believe you... but, I suppose you may come in and have the chance to explain yourself," she murmured, walking inside. He followed her, but as he went through the door she turned to face him. "Well, aren't you going to invite your friends in as well? I'd imagine the cold to be unpleasant this time of year."

"Wait, you know there's others?" he asked and she let out another sigh.

"You're as thick as you usually are, Ryu," she muttered. "All of your trudging and whispers woke me up, not to mention you even said '_we're_ in need of a place to stay', anyway."

"Oh. Right." With that, River went back into the house to light some lanterns as Viri returned to the edge of the forest. "Alright, it seems we at least have a place to stay for tonight, so come on in. But, she only knows me as Hakuryuu, so don't call me Viri in front of her, okay? Now-" Viri began but he cut himself off, having no idea how he didn't notice that Hannah was the only one there. "Wait, where's everyone?"

"Sym told me she's gone to investigate the town, Praze decided to sleep out in the forest instead, and Ace and Silva both have gone into town to find their own lodgings with the money Hiccup gave them," Hannah told him and Viri could only roll his eyes.

"What about you, then?" he asked, wondering why she didn't go off on her own as well.

"I'm completely exhausted and I have no intentions of trying to find my own place to stay," she responded as the two of the walked back to the house.

"Fair enough."

* * *

As Sym looked around the loud and rowdy tavern that was the Tabibito, her eyes narrowed as tried to find someone that could give her information. Though the bar mainly consisted of burly men with their wooden mugs of mead and other assortments of the inhibiting kind, she knew the perfect place to go. _The waitress. _All Sym had to do was wait, and the information would come to her. And come it did.

"What can I get you?" the bright and bubbly young woman asked, a smile on her face. Sym gestured for the girl to move closer.

"What do you know of the decree?" Sym asked as she discreetly showed some of the silver coins she had appropriated from Toothless.

"Those be dangerous words to mutter in these times," she whispered quietly as she sat down, taking the coins from Sym's hand and putting them in her apron pocket. "Plenty of men get drunk and share their secrets here, what specifically do you want to know about them?"

"Where are they situated?" she asked, red eyes scouring the room as she listened to what the waitress had to say.

"A lot of ships make port here when they want to go inland, so we get a lot of customers during these times but..." she then trailed off, looking at Sym's hand. Without needing any further indication, she passed a few more coins to the girl, who smiled and continued. "The only time there's been a drunken slip up that resulted in the correlation of the decree and a specific destination... has been Lanos."

"Lanos, huh? Do you have any idea what sort of numbers they might have?"

"Unfortunately, no," the waitress responded, leaning back. "That's about all the information I can offer you regarding them. They're extremely tight-lipped."

"Thanks for your time," Sym responded, standing up.

"Well, would you at least like a drink before you leave?" the waitress asked, standing also.

"No, thanks," Sym murmured, leaving the table and heading for the door. She had to get back to the others to tell them what she'd found out. She couldn't believe how incredibly easy it was. Of course, there was a chance the information was incorrect, but at least they had a place to start. The only unfortunate thing, however, was the that this was the only thing that was on her mind. She didn't notice the two men that had followed her outside. But the man who had been watching her from the corner noticed, and narrowed his eyes as he went to follow the three of them, tightening the scarf around his neck.

When she was outside the tavern, Sym turned and began walking, remembering where Viri had taken them all earlier. _I'll take a quick cut through the forest,_ she thought, not bothering to take such an ineffective route, instead opting for the direct path. She didn't notice she was being followed, even in spite of her heightened senses. That was, at least, until she saw the knife in front of her face. The knife had swung out at her neck from behind a tree and she barely managed to dodge it in time, falling over backwards as she did. Her eyes widened as she fell onto her back but before she could do anything, she was pinned down and almost didn't see the knife in her assailant's hands as it plunged towards her chest. Instantaneously she reacted, grabbing the attacker – who she identified as a man – by his hands and stopping the blade just before it came into contact with her.

"She's a strong one, Carl," the man seemed to chuckle as he pushed down harder, but before Sym could do anything else, his hand reached out and he grabbed the bit of cord that was around her neck, tearing it off her. "My gods!" he exclaimed, only to find himself thrown into the air as Sym expertly kicked him off her. She heard the clang of the blade as it hit the ground, but instead of running to finish the first attacker, she tried to find the other one, only to be caught from behind in a clearly larger man's grip.

"Now, now, missy, didn't your parents ever tell you not to roam the woods at night, there are all sorts of heinous people out here, remember?" the man chuckled into her ear as he gripped her tighter.

Unfortunately, Sym was in a terrible position. He had managed to pin her arms and elbows to her sides, so she couldn't disable him using her arms, as well as apply pressure to her windpipe so she couldn't breathe. Even in human form, Night Furies were very strong but this man was insanely strong. Sym couldn't break free and because of how large he was, nor she could she throw him with her legs or trip him up. _Damn, I may have to use reconstruction,_ she thought but before she could even begin, the pressure had stopped and the man fell to the floor. Sym fell with him down onto her hands and knees, trying to regain her breath, as she realised another presence.

"You should really be careful about how you get information in this town," a voice murmured and Sym looked up to see the young man she had noticed sitting in the corner of the bar. He fixed his woollen scarf that had come a little loose as he watched her get up. Sym felt around her neck and her eyes widened when she realised her scale was gone – and the other man had run off whilst she was getting strangled. "That waitress in the bar has a deal with those two ruffians – for a cut of the profits, she sells out people with money and they get jumped, mostly killed-"

"Where's the other one?" she cut in, looking around frantically.

"He ran past me, but I-" the man began but stopped as Sym went to pass him, grabbing onto her shoulder to stop her, "he's probably already-"

The second the man had grabbed Sym, she jumped up onto him and swung around his body, grabbing his head between her legs before elaborately throwing him to the ground with a thud. Wasting no time, she ran back towards the town, leaving the young man on his back, staring with wide eyes up at the stars. He let out a long whistle of astonishment.

"Damn..." he trailed off, a grin on his face.

* * *

About half an hour later, Sym had returned to the Tabibito. She opened the door and turned to the right, finding the young man right where he was the first time before she walked over to his table and sat down. She let out a groan as she put her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands.

"Didn't find him, did you?"

"No," she responded with a sigh, stopping for a moment. "Thank you for getting the other one off me, I'm sorry I threw you like that." He smirked.

"Considering how pissed and frantic you looked, I'd say it's because the thing you lost was quite valuable," he said. "I'd also say you're not here to apologise. You want to know more about where's he's taken it, don't you? Considering you've come to me, you've figured I know at least that much because of what I was saying before."

"You're not wrong," Sym replied, looking up at him. "Well, can you-"

"It's too loud here, let's talk upstairs," he interrupted her, just as another bout of laughter came from the crowd. "I have a room here." Sym was about to say something, but she stopped herself and just nodded, following him as he walked across the bar, nodding to the barkeep as he walked past him and down a hallway, which in turn led to a set of stairs. After a short climb and walk, they arrived at a room and he opened the door, gesturing for her to go in. He shut and locked the door behind them as Sym sat down at the small table, watching as he did the same.

"Karma," he began and Sym was taken aback for a moment, not understanding what he meant. "My name is Karma, what's yours?" he asked, and Sym sighed. She could tell that this man – Karma – would be able to tell if she were lying. He'd proven at least that much earlier. She was even willing to bet that he'd have been able to block her throw had he been on guard.

"Symphony," she told him. "Now, do you know?"

"That would depend on how valuable the stolen item is," he responded. "Socially."

"Socially? What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Is it seen by the general populace as a rare item, perhaps?" he asked and Sym thought for a moment, remembering something Praze had told her that Viri had mentioned to him. _Night Fury scales are extremely rare, so you should be careful about displaying them. They are often used in jewellery and fetch extremely high prices._

"Yes, extremely so," Sym told him and he reached into a satchel, bringing out a piece of parchment and placing it on the table. "What's this?" she asked, momentarily confused.

"This is a tournament that's held around about this time of year; The Sword's Song," he told her. "While the runner-up prizes are money hand-outs, the first, second, and third place prizes are all items of a substantial rarity. The organisers offer money for such items from the public so they can have a decent amount of participants to compete, and robberies are a very frequent occurrence due to the fact."

"So... if they thing they stole ends up as one of the prizes, I'd need to enter the tournament to win it back?" Sym asked and Karma nodded.

"It's not that simple, though," he continued. "It's the most well-renowned tournament on this part of the mainland, not to mention brutal. It's called the Sword's Song, but all non-ranged weapons are allowed... and so is murder. There are about a thousand people that sign up, with fifty qualifying matches consisting of twenty participants. Last-man standing. The remaining twenty-five matches are one-on-one, then so on and so forth."

"Do they publish what the prizes will be beforehand?" she asked.

"They have to in order to get a large group of people to sign up, thus making them more money-" he began but cut himself off as he stood quickly, his eyes on the door as he ran over to it, quickly unlocking it and opening it as he looked out, and Sym could hear footsteps as someone ran away down the stairs. "Pervert..." he muttered as he shut the door and locked it again, walking back over to the table.

"Pervert?" Sym questioned.

"Some people notice when you take a beautiful woman up to your room," he explained as he sat down. "Pathetic, really."

"I would've thought their eavesdropping to be a little more... pragmatic," she murmured, letting out a sigh. "Anyway, when is the tournament and when will they publish the prizes?"

"Actually, in about a week or so they'll put up posters in the town square – where the ring will be set up – and a short time after that they'll be in the square doing sign-ups," Karma replied, becoming more and more intrigued with the young woman before him. "You're not actually thinking of competing, are you?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'll have no choice if the thing they stole is in the prizes," Sym responded, a glint of condescension in her eyes. "Do not forget that I put you on your arse before, so you would do well to choose your words wisely, Karma." He chuckled at her words as a grin formed on his face.

"It's my fault that I jest with strangers because they don't understand my sense of humour," he told her as he leant his head back on his hands and closed his eyes. "I'm not partial to prejudice."

"Good, neither am I," she told him. "Are you going to compete?"

"That would depend on the prizes," he replied. "I've never really bothered before, but because I'm in town, I thought I'd give it a go." There was silence for a few moments, and Karma opened his eyes to look at her again. "You can always just pay me to win it for you," he added with a smirk.

"Not a chance," Sym replied, almost instantly, as a smirk crept on her own face. "I'll win it back myself if it comes to it. And I'll beat you, too, if it comes to it." His smile grew slightly as his eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, but I won't go easy on you," he told her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, either," she told him as she stood. "It's getting late, however, so I'll have to leave."

"Now that's a shame, and here I was enjoying your company," he added with a smirk as he stood with her and walked over to the door, unlocking and opening it for her. "I meant that. It's not often I find someone as... _enigmatic_ as yourself."

"Don't give me too much credit," she replied with a smirk. "I'll see you at the tournament, so get ready to be beaten."

"I look forward to it," he replied before shutting the door, and Sym walked away back down the hallway, a puzzled expression on her face. _I did enjoy that, didn't I? _She was surprised.

What really caused her to stay so long was the fact that Karma had appeared charismatic on the surface, but in reality, was just as enigmatic and unmoved as herself. And, of course, there was the one fact that had surprised her the most; that Karma's eyes were a deep, blood red like her own. Of course, it was naturally occurring in humans, just very rare. But there was just something about him that made her... confused. Almost as if he were simple yet intricate at the same time, and the only reason she had stayed so long was so she could try and figure him out. Which in and of itself was so unlike her.

_Stop overanalysing it, Sym. You're just going to arrive at a non-conclusive conclusion that leaves you with nothing but wasted time. Best to just leave it and forget about him. Well, at least until I see him at the tournament. He'll definitely be there... and I'll definitely crush him. Yeah, that's how I'll get some closure, at least. _With that in mind, she returned to the house, taking the normal path this time and being wary of any possible robbers, and knocked on the door.

* * *

**A/N**

**I'm hoping to get some more regular updates going, so I've decided to reduce the word count a bit. Doing 8k+ chapters can take longer if I get stuck on multiple things. **

**Anyway, I'm going to return to answering reviews, because I just want to. Yeah. **

**QuiteARandomFan: Thanks! Although it was a few months ago now, hehe. You did get quite a look at _Black_ in this chapter, though, so maybe you're more interested in him now. Well, probably. Claire may or may not get healed, time will tell. And, well, what I decide. And yes, the plan is for the whole family to be interesting. Fun fact, as thanks for being my best reviewer, I'll tell you that Praze (when I began writing him) _was_ based on what I used to be like, and Sym (when I began writing her) _was_ based on who I am now. Both these characters, obviously, have been developed into their own characters. But, well, Sym is still a lot like me. Expect to see a lot more with her. And I'm glad you're enjoying it, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**mathmonkey167: Do I even need to respond to this? I'd say I already have, to be honest, but thanks regardless for the review :)**

**Yeah, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a review. **


	38. Part Three: Phantasmagoria (2)

**Part Three #2 – Phantasmagoria**

* * *

The morning was cold, as it usually was in forests such as the one Praze had just woken up in. He was in his Night Fury form, obviously, and after a few moments he slowly stood and stretched his body as he let out a yawn. He looked around with tired eyes, deciding he'd better get back to River's house to find out what Sym had learned. He didn't fancy sleeping in a stranger's house, which was the main reason why he'd slept out in the forest, but also because sometimes he needed to remind himself that he was, in fact, a Night Fury. He wasn't human; he didn't need to sleep inside a house all the time. His – all – Night Fury bodies were built to live in harsh environments.

_Well, I'd better get going now,_ he thought with another yawn as he changed back into his human form and stretched that body as well. _This damn crick still isn't going away, _he thought in dismay as he began walking back. _Hope I didn't miss too much. _

It didn't take him too long to get back and within a few minutes, he was knocking on the door. It opened to Sym, who greeted him as he walked in. "Sleep well?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was nice," he replied. "Did you find out anything useful?" he then asked, noticing Viri and what seemed to be Viri's friend, River.

"Yeah, that was what we were just discussing," Sym told him as she sat back down on the couch. "Anyway, this is River; Hakuryuu's friend." Praze smiled before turning to River, thankful that Sym managed to let him know what to call Viri.

"Yes, that would be me," River told him with a smile. "What's your name, and how do you know Ryu?"

"My name's Praze, and he's my older brother," he told her, and all of a sudden River's smile faded as her body stiffened. She looked for a moment between him, Viri, and Sym, a look of disbelief on her face. "What's wrong?" Praze asked, puzzled by her reaction.

"Are... are you two twins?" she asked, looking between Sym and Praze. They looked at each other for a moment, confusion on both their faces.

"Uh... yeah, how could you tell?" Sym asked but before anyone could say another word, they were stunned by the sound of a glass smashing on the ground. The glass River had been holding had slipped from her grip as she stood there, looking somewhat disconsolate. She then turned to Viri, who had been silent during the whole exchange, before she looked into his eyes and spoke.

"Your name isn't Hakuryuu, is it?" she asked quietly, and he froze. She leant on the bench in front of her as she shook her head, as if unable to come to terms with what was happening. She then laughed as she continued to shake her head. "You're all Night Furies... aren't you?" Praze couldn't believe it. Not that she had figured it out... but because he'd just realised who River really was.

"We could ask you the same thing, couldn't we?" Praze asked and River looked up at him. She let out a sigh, about to respond, but before she could, Viri spoke up.

"That's not right..." he trailed off, clearly distraught. "That's just not fair..." he continued, beginning to tear up as his body grew weak. "You can't have been right here this whole time..."

"You can't blame yourself, Viri, it's not like we could tell who we are like this," River continued as Praze looked over to Sym. She nodded, and the two of them both walked over to the door.

"We'll give you both some space," Praze stated as he opened the door, following Sym out before shutting it behind them, leaving Viri and River alone.

Viri collapsed on the couch, staring emptily at the ground. "I... can't believe it," he muttered, calming himself.

"You know," River began as she walked over to him. "I was going to mention this a while ago, but do you remember the night you came up here many years ago, looking for information?" she asked, and Viri gave a weak laugh.

"Yeah, I was told by everyone in town you wouldn't talk to me even though you'd become the town's scribe..." he trailed off. "Why'd you even do that?"

"That's a story for another time," she told him with a smile. "Anyway, the reason I let you in then was because of your eyes."

"My... eyes?" he asked, confused.

"I never told you and as I just said, I was going to mention it a while ago, but it was because you had the same eyes as my friend that I lost. Well, obviously, you had the same eyes as yourself..." she trailed off with a laugh. "We're both thick."

Viri let out a weak laugh of his own. "Yeah... we are..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling very awkward. All the things he'd told _River_ about certain... things... were coming back to him. "Ennis-"

"Don't call me that, I've decided to ditch that name, just call me River," she told him and he looked up at her, watching as a smile appeared on her face. "Say, Viri, do you remember what you made me promise to you, last time you were here?"

His face heated as he turned his gaze the floor in front of him. He _really _didn't need reminding. "Uh... y-yeah..." he trailed off, his heart rate quickening as he heard her walk over to him and stop in front of him. "W-Well, that was before I knew-" Viri cut himself off as River sat down on his lap and placed her hands on his shoulders, promptly leaning forward and pressing her lips to his in one swift movement.

* * *

Praze let out a breath of disbelief as they walked along the path that led to the town. "Well. That happened."

"How long did Viri say he'd known her for?" Sym asked, blankly staring ahead.

"Longer than a decade..." Praze trailed off with a sigh. "I just can't understand how they didn't recognise each other."

"Well, they recognised each other now, so let's just leave it at that," Sym told him flatly as she turned from him. He could tell she was scowling at nothing in particular, obviously perturbed by something.

"What's up?" he asked, only to receive silence. He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, where's Hannah?" he then asked, watching as Sym let out a sigh.

"She was upstairs, fast asleep last I checked," she answered before quietly murmuring, "she's still getting over the ordeal she went through at the decree base. I told you this already... but she was a huge impact on me after you left, so it really pains for me to see her like this."

"Yeah, it sucks... I'd somewhat gotten used to her hyperbolic self," Praze told her and she raised a brow. "It was a little annoying at first but eventually the banter was and is rather enjoyable. I can see how you and Hannah make good friends." Sym smiled as she breathed in the crisp morning air, finding herself happy for some reason.

"I think you and her could make great friends, also," she told him before she thought of something. "Can I ask you something a bit more... personal?" she then asked, causing him to eye her.

"This should be good," he murmured. "What?"

"Well... I was just wondering – and I know at least as much that you'd have thought a little about this already – but..." she trailed off as Praze turned to her. He knew what he was asking and he didn't like it.

"Do I think she could potentially be more than a friend?" Praze finished for her and she nodded. "You know... and don't ever tell her that I said this, but she _is_ quite enjoyable to be around," he continued as the began walking again. "Well, when she tames her seemingly endless supply of energy. Honestly, I can't begin to understand where she gets it all from."

"So you think there's a possibility?" she asked and Praze could only roll his eyes.

"Seriously, first Toothless and now you," he murmured, shaking his head. "Why such insinuations all of a sudden?"

"I'll take that as a yes, then," she continued with a smirk.

"Of course you would," he muttered with a sigh. "Anyway, let's get to what's important. What did you find out?" Sym had been contemplating on continuing teasing him but his reminder of the night previous caused all of that to disappear, leaving her with a strong feeling of angst as she realised that she had lost her scale. They continued walking silently as Sym tried to think of what to say, but before she could, Praze turned to her and spoke again. "What happened?"

She turned to him and just stared at him solemnly, unable to find the words before she eventually quietly spoke, "I lost my scale." His eyes widened for a moment, suddenly feeling a deeply foreign feeling of sympathy.

"How?" he asked after a moment and she let out a deep sigh.

"I... found out some information regarding the decree and was quite... thrilled, so to speak... that I allowed myself to be jumped by two men," she told him. "I barely escaped getting my throat slit after one of them jumped out from behind a tree. He pinned me down, got his hands on my scale before I kicked him off and just before I was about to get it back, the other one – a _huge_ man – caught me in a bear grip. I... I would have had to use reconstruction to escape had another man from the bar not knocked him out. But by the time I had recovered my breath, the man who had my scale had disappeared without a trace."

Praze stood there silently for a moment, having stopped with her. He didn't know what to say. If Sym didn't get her scale back, she wouldn't have the ability to change back into a Night Fury. "How are you going to get it back? Did you find anything out? I assume you tried to find some kind of leads after that happened, right?" he asked and she nodded, taking another breath.

"The man who saved me, who told me his name was Karma, was at the Tabibito after I had run around trying to find the other man with my scale," she answered as they continued walking again. "Fortunately, it would seem there's a very high chance that we can get my scale back. Apparently, Kyoraan has a lot of murders and robberies around about this time because of a tournament that is held here; the Sword's Song."

"A tournament?" he asked and she nodded.

"The organisers pay a hefty amount for any _exotic _items for prizes to pull in participants and thus get more money," she replied. "According to Karma, there's a good chance my scale will be one of the prizes."

"You told him about your scale?" he asked but she shook her head.

"No, but judging by what he said I can practically guarantee it'll be there."

"I see... how long do you think until they'll post information about it?" Praze asked and she shrugged.

"Karma thought they would in about a week..." Sym then trailed off as the two of them turned towards a ruckus that was emanating from the town square in front of them. There was a large crowd in front of the town's noticeboard, causing the two to share a glance. "But it may just be out already..."

"Let's check it out," he said and she gave a nod before they both walked over to the crowd. It was clear that there was quite the atmosphere, and many mutterings were heard... none were a sign for the two as they entered the crowd.

"_My gods! N__o wonder they released the details early, __l__ook at the prizes!" "I don't care if I'm reckless; if I can get my hands on any of those prizes I'll be set for life! And entry's only ten silver coins!" "Ten silver!? I could last on that for a __month__!" _

Praze didn't have a good feeling about any of it. If the organisers released details early with such fantastical prizes, there was a decent chance they were trying to pull in people from all around. If Sym's scale really was one of the prizes, necessitating their participation, there was a chance they could come up against opponents too tough to handle. He ground his teeth in vexation as he pushed through the crowd before finally making to the centre of the commotion, right before the noticeboard. He looked up, finding himself both relieved and uncharacteristically dispirited. He closed his eyes as he let out a sigh.

Sym's scale was the first place prize.

"What are you so downcast for, if anything I'm relieved I don't have to search for it," Sym muttered from behind him.

"You _do _realise how tough it might be to get it back?" he asked, turning to her. She continued to stare at him blankly before her eyes narrowed and she smiled.

"Come all they want, they still won't be able to beat us," she responded before turning and walking away through the crowd. She was lucky Praze couldn't see her face as she pushed her way through the crowd, otherwise, he might have been seriously worried about her. Her smile began to change ever so slightly to a grin, her blood-red eyes showing what could only be described as sadistic intent.

_I'll kill them all._

* * *

**A/N**

**This should satisfy people for a while, I suppose. It may be short, but after having read it, I'm sure you'll realise it was a bit of a quality-over-quantity deal here. **

**I hope you enjoyed. **

**QuiteARandomFan: I'm glad you did! I hope you enjoyed this one, too. And yeah, Viri's a loner- wait, I can't say that anymore. Damn. You can kinda guess what Praze is gonna ask him, yeah? (*cough* _how long? *_cough*). I'm glad you're taking a liking to Karma, I'm rather interested in bringing him to light as well. He's very... _black. (I'm terribly sorry for that horrendous and despicable pun; it barely made sense as it is). _We shall see about Claire... And yeah, they're really only intriguing because I can provide such insight into their personality. I could probably make Hannah and Viri more interesting characters if I had the same sort of personality as them. I'm really looking forward to delving deeper into Sym's character, though. And yeah it's not easy having to wait months for a chapter, people can certainly forget things. But yeah, they can't return from their human forms unless they have their scale. Think of it as a hard drive containing a save file for your character. Anyway, again, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I honestly can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one, so make it good ;) **

**Thanks again. **

**mathmonkey167: It's been a while alright. I hope I can make the tournament somewhat interesting, and I'm also hoping to reduce the times between chapters, even if it means sacrificing how much I put into them. But as I mentioned; quality over quantity. The amount of things I put into this chapter rival a few of my 8k chapters with a quarter of the length, simply because I was more diligent and efficient in my writing. And seriously, what is with you and Karma? I must be doing a good job keeping him more of a mystery. **

**And thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure we'll talk more in depth about this one also. Cheers!**


	39. Part Three: Resonance (3)

**Part Three #3 – Resonance **

* * *

The first thing she noticed was the dull orange glow that populated the room. If the blackness under her eyes wasn't testament enough, her slow, strained movements as she sat up from the bed were surely indicative of her exhaustion. Her gold eyes weren't shining. Her face had neither a smile nor smirk. She didn't want to talk, didn't want to think or entertain ideas. All of these things usually defined Hannah as _Hannah_. But she was just... blank. Empty. Lifeless.

She scowled as she clutched her knees, feeling her nails begin to dig into her skin. She didn't care at this point, she could barely feel it. After a few moments more, she let go and stood, needing to hold on to the nearby wardrobe for support before slowly making her way downstairs. She walked throughout the house, not even noticing that she was alone. She didn't even question where everyone else was, she just walked towards the door, opened it, and left. Her legs seemed to be able to hold her for the time being, and she just... walked. Out into the forest, no clear path in mind, nothing much in mind, in fact. She just shambled her way out into the forest, continuing along without really thinking much of it, until she stopped. She looked around, finding herself surrounded by trees, having no warning when she felt an intense pain in her lower abdomen.

Her eyes widened as she screamed out, falling to her knees in agony as she hunched over and clutched her sides. The pain was so intense that she could barely breathe, but that didn't stop her from wailing and moaning as tears began to fall from her eyes. But she wasn't going to give in, and before she was completely immobilised by the pain, she let out a scream of anger and jumped to her feet, her eyes full of rage as she sprinted towards a nearby tree. Without a care in the world, she raised her right arm and punched it as hard as she could. Once more, not hesitating long enough for the pain to deter her, she raised her left arm and punched again before continuing, again and again, not caring for the red that began to stain the bark. And she screamed, tears pouring from her eyes as she kept going as long as she could before her energy had completely left her and she collapsed once more. She curled up, uncaring of the blood that ran from her knuckles, and sobbed for an eternity before graciously falling unconscious.

* * *

"So, what did you actually find out about the decree? You neglected to mention before."

Sym looked at him blankly for a moment before she realised. "Oh, yeah, that's right. Well, you did take my mind off the topic, Praze."

"Yeah I know, just tell me now," he replied as they continued towards the port. "If we're checking in with Arc then you'd better inform me beforehand."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "Well, even though the barmaid that gave me the information sold me out, I believe the information is accurate. She said that the decree is most likely based in a town called Lanos."

"Lanos, huh? I've heard that before... I think someone mentioned it once back on Berq," Praze murmured, scratching his chin.

"Apparently it's a pretty well-known town," she replied. "However, before we can go and check it out, I'll need to get my scale back."

"I still can't believe you lost it, you're basically a pear."

"Right, and that's an actual insult."

"I can say what I want."

Neither of them noticed Viri and River standing on the docks next to Arc as they walked up to them.

"Oh hey, Sym, Praze, you're right on time," Viri called out to them as the neared.

"For what?" Praze called back. "I wasn't aware we were supposed to meet here for anything."

"Figure of speech, Praze," Viri murmured blankly. "We were discussing our next move. We were needing the information Sym has. Apparently, she knows where they are."

"Yeah, they're in Lanos, sorry for not saying so earlier," Sym told him as Arc's expression changed to one in deep thought.

"Hm... that's good and bad luck; Lanos is inland but a river runs up there from the coast, so we can sail there, but we can't get there for at least another two weeks because the mouth is closed from high tide," she said.

"That's not an issue," Praze began. "Sym had her scale stolen and is currently first place prize for a tournament held here-"

"Not the Sword's Song?" River cut in, a worried expression on her face.

"Yes, the Sword's Song. Is it a problem?" Praze asked.

"After living in this town for so long, anyone would be familiar with the tournament that allows the murder of nearly a hundred people."

"It's ok, River," Sym continued. "We're highly capable. I'll win my scale back easy, especially if Praze competes as well."

Viri, who had been quiet up until that point, now spoke up. "You two can't be serious. There's no _way_ I'll let you compete in that tournament! I've seen what people do in that! People tear people's _limbs_ off as the spectators cheer it on, it's insanity!"

"It's _also_ the only way for Sym to get her scale back, and you _know _that we are perfectly capable of competing without any risk," Praze told him and before Viri could reply, Sym joined in.

"Besides, it's not like you could stop us, anyway," she told him. "Don't worry too much, have a little faith."

Viri looked like he was going to contest it further but after a few moments let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Only because I know you're a lot stronger than humans and you have much better training than they do, I'll let you two compete."

"You'll let us anyway, but sure, thanks," Sym told him before turning to Arc. "Anyway, is it alright for us to stay here for that amount of time?"

"It's fine, Yoshino and I are pretty well off, we can pay the docking fee for another two weeks easily," she replied. "Those years of high-level trading have done us so well that we actually could live humbly for the rest of our lives and never have to do another scrap of work."

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear," Sym told her. "Is there anything you can tell me about Lanos?"

"Well..."

As Arc went on to tell Sym about Lanos, Praze continued talking with River and Viri. "Anyway, what have you two been up to?"

"We're about to go for a walk, so we thought we'd let someone know," River replied.

"Yeah, and Hannah's been asleep, so we thought it was best to not wake her and knew at least someone would come here to check in with Arc," Viri continued. "And on that thought... where are Silva and Ace?"

"I've still not seen them, but I think we'd be alright to assume we'll see them soon enough," Praze answered. "They'll probably check in sometime today, maybe later this afternoon."

"Well, if you think so, I suppose there's no problem there," Viri murmured, in thought as Sym turned and joined them.

"Alright, I'm going to go and find out a bit more," she said, turning to Praze. "Want to come with?"

"I'm alright, thanks," he responded as he stretched his back. "I'm thinking of having a rest, actually. You go on, just try and stay out of trouble this time."

"Don't worry so much, I'll be careful," she told him as she turned and nodded her goodbye to the group before promptly heading back towards the town.

"I suppose I'll be off then as well, you two enjoy your walk," Praze told them, turning and heading back also before he stopped. He was facing away from them, so Viri couldn't see the smirk on his face. "Also, one other thing Viri," he continued, turning slightly.

"Yes, what, Praze?" Viri asked. The smirk intensified.

"_How long_?" he asked, and with that, turned and continued on his way.

River turned to Viri, who stared after Praze in what he'd hoped had been anger, but was in reality, mortification. Only enhanced by the fact the River was standing right next to him. "What was that about?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, turning to Arc. "We'll be on our way now, thanks for your time," he told her as he continued off down the pier. _I can't believe I didn't think of that,_ he thought as he walked with his head down. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were flushed. _How could I have not thought about... that... _His breathing had quickened and his heart rate had escalated. _Calm down, Viri, he's just teasing, it doesn't mean a thing. _

"Oi, wait up," River called from behind him and any effort Viri had made to calm himself instantly failed. "Anway, let me show you a place that's not too far away, it's a nice looking valley we can walk through," she told him, catching up to him. "It's already getting pretty late, and I'm hoping to stay out until dark."

"Uh... w-what for?" Viri asked, suddenly an abundance of images accompanying his thoughts. _Damn, now you've got me thinking weird, Praze._

"Well, there's also never anyone else there, so I was... uh... thinking... we could probably go for a flight," she replied.

"Oh, right," Viri murmured. "That would be... nice. It's not often I get the chance to just have a nice flight," he added, and she nodded in agreement with a smile.

"Well, I haven't flown in about five or six years, so I might be a little rusty," she said. "I don't even know what I'll look like or if it's detrimental to my body..." she trailed off as they came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, just outside of the town.

"Don't worry, your human body and original body are one and the same, but don't expect me to explain how that works to you now," he told her as they continued walking. "You'll be fine," he reassured her with a smile, and only then did he realise what that meant. They were going to be in their original forms together for the first time in many years. All alone. In the dark.

"Well, thanks, I also think it'd be pretty interesting to see how the two of us have changed since then," she told him. "I still remember the day you left, you know."

"I'm sorry," Viri said suddenly and River was puzzled.

"What for?" she asked.

"For leaving you there, all alone..." he trailed off. "I should have t-taken you with me." At this point, Viri was finding it very difficult to not break down in front of her, but at the touch of her hand on his shoulder, he found himself instantly soothed.

"You know, I was '_left there all alone' _for less than a week, Viri," she murmured. "I went after you after a couple of days, but I can't believe it took me so long to find you..."

"It still ate away at me... leaving you there with... _them_..." he trailed off and she let out a sigh.

"I can't harbor too much resentment towards them for having brought about my existence in this world, accidental or not, I just don't understand why they were like that..." she murmured and he turned to her.

"They're... they're dead," he mumbled quietly.

"Really?" she asked and he nodded. "Well..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say until she eventually let out a sigh. "I just hope they managed to change before then. If not... then what they got was well deserved."

"I'm glad it's not just me that feels that way, then," Viri continued as he stared out to the ocean from the cliff. They could see the town from there, not to mention the port.

"How did they die?" she then asked. "It's not like Night Furies have short life spans, in fact quite the opposite."

Unfortunately, Viri found himself unable to answer. "If... if you want to know, ask Praze. He'll probably tell you... just be wary of a blunt response."

"To be honest, I'm not too fussed," she told him. "If anything, it only makes me feel happier. I don't owe them my sadness, they've had enough of that."

"Well, you're right about that," Viri told her as he turned away from the late afternoon sun. "Let's keep going, now, anyway. Otherwise, we may not have time to go for a flight."

"Time is of no consequence, we don't have to rush," she told him. "I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves at night."

"That's not what I meant, we might need to be back in time for the others," he said as they continued walking.

"Yeah, good point," she admitted. "Alright, let's get on with it."

* * *

_Why is this world so out of joint? _

Praze found himself pondering this more often than he'd like to admit. Unfortunately, he could never find an answer. But that was obvious. Not everything had an answer, and certainly not for existential questions like such. He still couldn't help but ponder, however, if only pondering the possibility of there being an answer.

_What does it matter, _he thought as he continued through the forest, trying to find the same spot he'd slept at the night previous. He knew it was probably dangerous sleeping in his Night Fury form whilst it was still light out, but he knew he could detect a human's presence even if he were sleeping. The only problem is that he didn't want to be awoken in such a way. It would be way too much of a hassle for him, not to mention what he might do to such a human foolish enough to wake him. He would be quite impulsive.

_Enough of that,_ Praze thought. _I'll just have a quick rest and think for a bit until it's dark enough to sleep, _he reasoned as he continued walking through the forest until a peculiar smell caught his attention. His eyes narrowed as he followed the scent, weaving his way through the trees until the smell was absolutely incontestable. _It's blood alright,_ he thought as he turned around a large hill and found what seemed to be the cause of the smell. At first, he was worried, but after he took a moment to take in the scene, he found himself with another, no longer foreign, sense of sympathy for the young woman curled up on the ground.

"What have you done to yourself," he murmured quietly, leaning down to check if Hannah was awake. Finding her to still be asleep, he leaned down and picked her up. The smell of blood was almost overpowering but Praze still managed to source himself a small stream, laying her down next to it. She was still sleeping, quite heavily it would seem, and Praze was hardly surprised. He'd gathered enough to know that Hannah wasn't going to be back to full strength for a very long time. Enough to know that punching a tree until her knuckles were bloodied and bruised was a fairly suppressed response, given the magnitude of what she went through.

He looked down at the troubled expression on her face, even as she slept, and frowned disconcertedly as he tore a strip of material from the bottom of his shirt and put it into the cold water of the fast-moving stream. Grabbing one of her hands, he gently began to wipe away the blood, trying not to make it sting too much. He didn't want her to wake. Not just yet, at least. After he was finished cleaning the first hand, he began to clean the other one, slowly rubbing it against the raw skin. Her injuries weren't as bad as they could have been, but they were still pretty bad. There was bound to be bruising.

Praze let out a sigh as he sat there, cross-legged, bent over as he stared at the grass and let go of his makeshift cloth. _What should I do next,_ he asked himself. _I suppose I could carry her back to the house... but if she woke up on the way, that would just be awkward... _He turned back to her, watching as her chest slowly rose and fell in time with her faint breaths. He then let out another sigh as he turned back to the grass, feeling his fists begin to clench. He suddenly found himself exceedingly livid, but he couldn't understand why. At least, he couldn't understand why he felt so strongly. He usually had pretty good control over his emotions... but right now he could hardly contain himself; his imagination was running wild. Images of a certain, one-armed man getting brutally murdered in various, unethical ways, began to show in his mind. His face was blank as he stared intently in front of him and a vicious aura began to emanate from Praze, who was unbeknownst of it.

"That's not a pleasant look to wake up to, you know," a sleepy voice murmured quietly and Praze turned to see Hannah's tired, lifeless eyes watching him.

"Sorry..." he muttered in reply. "How are your hands?"

She tiredly lifted them up, only then realising that they weren't as bloody as she last remembered them being. "A bit better now, thanks to you... but they'll be a lot worse later on."

"At least they won't get infected, but you should be more careful the next time you decide to beat a tree to death," he told her as he put his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands to stare up at the night sky. _The rest of the day went by pretty fast after all..._

"Don't worry, I'll take care next time," she mumbled as she slowly pulled herself up from the ground, only to let out a whimper of pain as she clutched her stomach.

"You ok?" Praze asked, a worried expression on his face. Instead of answering, she simply stared solemnly at the ground in front of her.

"Did Sym tell you what they did to me?" she asked quietly and Praze's expression softened.

"No, she didn't," he told her as she looked at him.

"They... put a lot of various... substances... into me," she began, looking away again. "Not just the oleander and the ma huang... other drugs that mess with the body and the nervous system..." she trailed off, suddenly laughing weakly. "The thing is... I didn't even know the severity of what they did until they put me back into the chamber with Lilith and Claire... do you remember what her ability is, Praze?" she then asked and he nodded.

"Divination... she can tell what sort of injuries and illnesses someone has..." he trailed off, not liking where this was going.

"Yeah, well, I got back in there and she looked me ver, only to start... crying," she murmured, causing Praze's eyes to widen. "She kept saying that she was sorry she allowed it to happen, and then she told me. Well, to be honest, the thing I'm angered most about is more so the fact that I no longer have the option to choose for myself..."

At this point, Praze knew. He knew, yet still, he couldn't stop himself from asking, even as he felt a familiar rage burn through his body. "What choice?" he asked, softly, his words coming out shakily. She turned to him again, eyes far more lifeless than Praze could ever expect, and murmured softly.

"If I ever wanted to be a mother."

* * *

**A/N**

**Yes, I know, some of you expected it, but regardless. It's pretty sad. I put a lot of effort into this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it.**

**mathmonkey167: Well now, I do suppose it was filled with much but I'm most happy about the fact that it's noticeable I've grown in my writing since I started. I'd certainly hope so, being the whole point of this! Well, it's grown to be much more than that now, but nonetheless. I appreciate it. Hopefully, this chapter also gave you some more things to think about, sorry I didn't put it what I said I'd put in :P I thought doing this was better than making everyone wait a while longer.**

**QuiteARandomFan: I think you'd be surprised, but also not. Surely Karma can't _really_ be his name, can it? _Can it?_ To be, or not to be a man with an odd name. And yes, Viri and Hannah do seem to be attracting quite the attention... I'd certainly hope so. I put a lot of effort into almost all of my OCs. And sorry for all the long waits, again, I do wish I was better at _committing _to my writing. I could get a chapter done every week... I'm so sorry. But... now I have an excuse. I'm the caption of the tenth best Rocket League team in Australia haha so that's been taking up a lot of my time, not to mention I'm now working two jobs, and have Uni next year! I am going to die next year, but my writing schedule will definitely improve!**

**Damn that really sucks about missing your skydiving, I'd love to try that someday. Also glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter. I hope this one is the same, thanks again. **

**Ainaines: I'm glad you enjoy it, there aren't too many OC Night Fury stories around, are there? Oh well. My worries about that have long since passed since I don't have the time to read anymore. **

**Consider myself continued. **

**Sag1tarr1us: Well, obviously. We all know Sym's too much of a sadist to let an opportunity such as this go by. But I wonder if that's truly how it would go down... after all, one really can't predict what might show up. ;)**

**Well, that's it for this one. **

**Cya.**


	40. Part Three: Lilium (4)

**Part Three #4 - Lilium**

* * *

"Hannah... I-I don't know what to say-"

"Then don't say anything," she told him as she stared at him through narrowed eyes. "I've had enough pity for a lifetime." Praze was about to say something before he stopped himself. She turned back to the ground, pulling her knees into her chest. "The thing that no one understands is that I've never wanted to be a mother – I'm just pissed off that I don't have the option to change my mind."

Praze's eyes widened slightly for a moment, thinking about what he should say. "I... I understand, Hannah-"

"No you don't, Praze, how could you possibly understand the way I feel?" she then asked as she rested her head on her knees, only casting her eyes towards him.

"Well, for starters... I've never wanted to be a parent myself, Hannah, and I don't think I'm ever going to change my mind," he began, causing her brow to raise. "However, if something caused me to be unable to become one regardless, the inability in itself would cause me to question my decision, which, in turn, would bring me a great deal of stress and anxiety."

A few moments passed before Praze realised Hannah hadn't said anything and he turned to her, surprised to find her staring at him with a nonplussed expression.

"Well..." she trailed off, still a little taken aback. "You're certainly the first to have made any sense with your response. I mean, Sym had said something similar after she'd cooled down, but her first reaction was a bit more... _excessive_."

"Yeah, Sym has always had an issue with excessiveness, especially when it comes to those she cares about," he told her.

"And when she accidentally does something terrible to someone she cares deeply about..." she trailed off, watching as Praze leaned back on his hands once more and stared up at the sky.

"I don't want to think about that, Hannah," he told her quietly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..." she told him, stretching her body out and laying back down on the grass.

"That's fine. The fact she told you is testament enough to the trust she has in you," he murmured. "If anything, I know I can trust you."

"Well, thanks for that," she told him before jumping up to her feet. "Anyway, they'll be wondering where we are, let's get back now."

"Sure thing, it's getting pretty late," Praze added as he stood. He turned to leave before he noticed Hannah didn't move, realising that she could hardly support herself. "Are you alright?" he asked, a concerned expression on his face.

"I... I don't have any strength in my legs..." she murmured feebly, her eyes on the ground as she leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. Praze let out a sigh as we walked over to her, watching as she slunk back down the tree to sit down on the ground once more.

"I'll carry you," he muttered quietly, looking away.

"What?" Hannah asked, not hearing him clearly.

"I'll carry you," he repeated a little more loudly, turning back to face her. Without waiting for her to say anything else, he deftly leaned down and picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other on her back just below her shoulders.

"W-Wait, Praze-" she began but before she could continue he began talking again.

"I don't want to stay out here and I'm not leaving you here, so you'll just have to put up with it," he told her bluntly, to which she could only reply with silence.

* * *

Amidst the clamour and commotion of the tavern, dark red eyes watched from the corner of the room, watching as people came and went, watching, thinking.

"Can I get you anything, miss?"

The voice brought Sym's attention to the young man standing in front of her, an apron tied around his waist and pad of paper in his hand. He had a fake smile on his face, eyes full of suppressed wanton desire. She looked up at him with a blank face, her eyes showing her boredom. _How pitiful_, she thought as she looked at him.

"No."

Instantly the man's smile faded and his attitude subtly changed to one of annoyance. "Very well," he muttered before walking away to another table. After mindlessly looking over the room once more, she concluded her findings. He wasn't going to show before the tournament. _That settles it,_ she thought as she stood from the table and walked over to the door. However, before she could leave, she bumped into something. Sym stopped, turning her head to find the woman from the other night.

"Please excuse-" the woman began, but upon looking up at Sym's face, she froze and her eyes widened. Grinning internally, Sym looked into the woman's eyes and allowed herself to leak some of the killing intent that she had suppressed, and smiled fleetingly as the woman screamed. The commotion stopped and everyone in the tavern turned to look at the woman, who had fallen to the ground, cowering in terror.

"What did you do to her!?" a nearby man asked, watching as the woman on the ground stared up at Sym in shock, hysterical.

"I didn't touch her," she replied flatly, a goading smirk creeping onto her face. "I simply gave her a warning." After that, Sym turned to leave but before she could open the door something whizzed by her ear and embedded itself into the wood, a few strands of her hair falling to the ground. She turned around, a blank yet bored look on her face.

"I saw you at the tournament board – you intend to compete, don't you?" the man holding the crossbow asked her in a deep, stern voice. He was rather large and a large two-sided battle-axe was mounted on his back.

"As do you, I'm certain," Sym murmured her response, pulling the crossbow bolt out from the wood and throwing it back at the large man, who was still sitting down. He caught it with a smirk, allowing himself to let out a light chuckle.

"I'm looking forward to this tournament a little more now – we won't have just plebians as I'd first thought," he told her. After a moment, Sym simply narrowed her eyes slightly before turning and leaving. As she entered the moonlit cobbled street, she heard the people of the tavern return to their merrymaking and let out a sigh of discontent. _Why did I go make a scene? I should have just left, _she thought, angry at herself. She let out a huff as she strode down the path, her head down at the ground as she watched the cobblestone go by before she noticed someone leaning up against a nearby tree.

"And what do you want?" she asked, finding herself more than a little irritated.

"Goodness, aren't you temperamental?" a male voice spoke up.

"Hardly, what do you want?" She couldn't deny it.

"I wanted to offer you another chance to have me get the item you seek for you," Karma asked as he walked out from the shadows, the moon revealing the smirk in the corner of his mouth. She turned more towards him, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"I don't get it."

"What don't you get?"

"Why do you bother so much to try and help me? It doesn't seem like you haven any ulterior motives... it also doesn't seem like you have any good reason, either," she told him, raising a brow. "So what is it?"

He smiled for a moment before looking up to the moon, shrugging his shoulders as he did. "I don't think I could find you a satisfying answer if I wanted to. I... don't think I've ever met anyone as real as you. Fake, meaningless smiles, societal conformity, blind respect for those in a position of power... people like that are what I absolutely despise. And you're probably the first one I've not considered a part of that system." He turned back to her, chuckling a little as he did. "Sorry, didn't mean to make that sound so philosophical or anything... I suppose I could've just said that you're interesting amongst the droll."

"Well, if you're comparing me to the droll then I would certainly hope so," Sym shot back, turning back to face the harbour a Karma let out a laugh.

"Then I can't persuade you not to compete?" he asked with an amused expression, watching as she shook her head.

"I still don't understand why you don't want me to compete," she murmured. "Why should you care?"

"It's not like I have any friends or family," he began, scratching his head. "I guess it's because you're probably the closest thing I've ever had to a friend."

"What, because I spoke to you one time and you suddenly think we're close?" she asked before realising something. _Don't criticise him, you hypocrite. You shouldn't forget that you were the same, if not worse before Hannah came along. "_Sorry, that was a little out of line."

"Not really, from your perspective, I'm still basically a stranger, and the same thing goes for me," he told her before letting out a sigh. There was some silence for a moment before Sym spoke up again.

"So, what now?" she asked as he turned to her. "We'll be enemies during the tournament."

"I wouldn't say so, especially not if you're suggesting I'd bother doing something so pointless as eliminating you now," he told her. "You couldn't be more wrong, that would be hardly any fun. And enemies? You're pretty dismal..."

"I don't know what I should think about you – I don't even know why I'm still talking to you," she murmured.

"I'm hoping it's because you at least find me a little interesting as well, Sym," he told her, smirking slightly before suddenly changing his expression. "Why don't we go have a drink, hm? Maybe you can figure out why you're still listening to me. Maybe I can figure out why I'm still ranting on. What do you think?"

"Well..." she began but stopped herself as she thought. She really had no idea why she was even taking the time to think – not that she could actually think about anything. She just had a strange feeling that she couldn't describe. Certainly, she was curious... but there were other things she should be worried about. On top of that, she still had the others to get back to. But was she really considering it? Why was it not just a straight '_no_' like it had always been? She had no idea. Well, she knew she wanted to find out more about him, but that was just about it.

"Someplace else to be, or can't decide?" Karma asked, a brow raised.

"I suppose... but it's not really even my sort of thing regardless," Sym answered, before looking at him with a smirk of her own. "All I'll end up doing is expunge information from you, anyway. I think I'll pass."

"Fair enough," he murmured. "Well, I suppose it was nice seeing you. I hope I see you again before the tournament." And with that, he was off back through the woods to wherever he was staying that night. Sym knew he was the type not to stay long in one spot – especially if she was right about a certain hunch she had. _I probably could have found that out if I went with him... but..._ she trailed off, knowing it was just going to frustrate her the more she thought about it. It could wait. _Now, time to get back._

* * *

"It's so... beautiful."

River looked at Viri, gazing up at the stars, the two of them in their Night Fury forms as they laid on a hill. "What is?" she asked and he smiled.

"The world is," he answered as he turned his head to her. "I'm so tired. I haven't flown for quite some time." She laughed at that.

"And how do you think _I_ feel, after being human for almost a decade?" she asked, a brow raised.

"I'd imagine it would feel quite cathartic," he murmured as she turned back to the stars. She turned back to the sky and chuckled lightly.

"I do feel cathartic, and although it does contribute to the feeling, being in my original form again isn't nearly enough to merit how I feel right now," she replied with a smile. "Would you like to take a guess at what does?" she then asked, at the same time slowly sliding her tail around his as she rolled onto her side and leaned into him.

"N-No thanks, I think I'll be fine," he answered quickly and River chuckled lightly once more as she felt his body stiffen slightly. She then closed her eyes and nuzzled into his neck, breathing deeply as she did. Viri froze once more, this time letting out a shaky sigh of pleasure at the comfort the feeling brought him. Then he closed his eyes and laid his head over hers. "I love you, River."

"I know," she murmured cheekily as she grinned. "I love you too, Viri. Always have. I just wish we could have been reunited sooner..."

"So do I, but at least – even if we didn't know it – we've been able to stay somewhat close, and for that I am glad," he told her.

"So am I," she murmured before she slowly got up and stood over him, "but it wasn't really enough for what we've both gone through."

"River-" Viri began but stopped as their eyes locked.

"I think we deserve at least _something_ in recompense, don't you think?" she asked as a smirk appeared on her face. A smirk that disappeared when River found herself on her back with Viri standing over her. Though it hadn't disappeared entirely because it had appeared on Viri's face instead.

"Right, and what do you suggest this _something_ be?" he asked, watching with humour as the smirk reappeared on River's face.

"Well, now," she began as she ran her tail down his chest, "why don't you use your imagination?"

"I'm afraid I have a horrendous imagination, River, you'll have to spell it out for me," he replied, the smirk on his face growing.

"If you insist," she replied, to bring his head down next to hers before whispering into his ear. After a moment he moved back, his flushed face clearly visible in the moonlight. She laughed at the look on his face, making him frown before letting out a sigh.

"You really are still just as devious as you were back then," he muttered as he looked down at her.

"Obviously," she replied shortly, a facetious smile upon her lips.

There was a pause for a moment until Viri smiled and leaned down to whisper into her ear, "_I really loved that about you_."

* * *

The tavern was small, dim-lit, and quiet. There was a single barkeep, quietly rubbing down the bench as one or two tables of people sat chatting. By the back of the tavern, there were two people, finishing their drinks as they watched the rest of the people in the tavern with amusement.

"So, what do you think of this little town?" Silva asked, watching as Ace took another sip of the wine she had in front of her.

"I think it's pretty neat. Not to mention this drink is rather nice," she replied. "What about you?"

"It's certainly nice for a port town, I'll give it that," he replied. "Still doesn't compare to Berq though."

"I'll have to admit that Berq doesn't have the greatest variety of alcoholic beverages, however," she murmured. "At least Hiccup gave us a bunch of money to spend, that way we can try out everything!"

"This money's for our expenses the whole trip – not just for alcohol, Ace," he told her with a tired expression on his face.

She was about to reply further but before she could, the door opened and a man walked in. He let out a loud sigh before finding a table and laying back into the chair as he sat down. He let out another sigh, this time of relaxation before he muttered one word. "Whiskey."

"Tough day?" the barkeep asked as he reached for a bottle under the counter.

"You could say that," he replied, weary red eyes focusing on the burly man as he poured the contents of the bottle into a small mug. "Trained a little bit for the tournament, then there was this girl..."

"Oh really? I see," the barkeep said as he placed the whiskey down in front of him. "Don't go messing up my room too much now, Viktor."

"Oh no, it's not like that, Brenn," he replied as he picked up the mug and downed its contents. "You wouldn't understand. Anyway, I'm off," he added, waving his thanks before walking upstairs. The barkeep moved back behind the counter as Ace and Silva turned back to one another.

"What was that about?" Ace asked him.

"No idea," he replied. "Anyway, let's get back. I think we've left the others long enough."

"I agree. This experience was nice, too," she replied as the two stood and left.

* * *

Meanwhile, out by the forest, Praze materialised in front of River's house with a very unhappy Hannah in his arms.

"Hush, it's not like I was going to walk all the way back to the house like this," he told her, a small smirk in the corner of his mouth.

"I do not like being carried," she stated as he walked over to the door.

"Well maybe don't go wandering off into the woods when you're a cripple then," he told her, stopping in front of the door. "Think you can stand now?"

She nodded before muttering, "You were the cripple."

"_Were_. I am no longer," he told her as she hopped off onto the ground, leaning on him to balance herself. "Are you right now?"

"I should be fine, just help me in and onto the couch," she murmured weakly, seemingly unable to come up with a witty response. Praze was somewhat disappointed.

"Alright," he said as he opened the door and helped her through and onto the couch. She plopped down onto it with a sigh of relief, leaning her head back to stare up at the ceiling. After a moment, Praze sat down next to her, letting out a relaxed sigh as he allowed the chair to soothe his tired body. A few more moments of silence passed before Hannah spoke up.

"Thank you, Praze."

"You're welcome," he replied and the two continued to sit there and relax for a for more minutes until they heard a knock at the door, and Praze turned to see Sym walk inside.

"Hey," she greeted them.

"Hello," they both responded as Sym noticed Hannah's hands.

"Woah, Han, what happened to your hands?" she asked, concern all over her face.

"Well, I kinda beat a tree to death," Hannah replied, watching as Sym blinked. "Yeah... I know. I wasn't really feeling well," she added, turning away. "Fortunately, Praze found me and fixed me up."

"At least enough so that she won't get an infection," he said. "She'll still have some bruising but nothing too severe."

"Don't worry, Sym, I'm fine now," Hannah told her. "I wasn't earlier, but I think I'm better now. It'll still take some time for me to return to normal, but I'm on my way."

Sym was going to say something more before she saw Praze, who nodded his head, and she just smiled. "Alright then, if you say so I'll trust you. If you need anything, just ask."

"I will. For now, I just want to rest..." she trailed off tiredly.

"Any idea where Silva and Ace are?" Praze then asked Sym.

"Nah, I have no idea..." she said, leaning on the kitchen bench as she crossed her arms. "Is it okay for them to have just run off?"

"Yeah," he replied, closing his eyes. "They're actually also doing some work for Hiccup whilst we're doing this, so we don't have to worry about them. Anyway... you've been going off places lately, what have you been up to?"

"Still scouring a bit for information, nothing much else," she replied.

"Really? It seems like you're a little flustered when you come back," he said, causing Sym to raise a brow.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well, for starters, I can see right through you," he began. "No amount of phlegmatic disposition could stop that. You always have something on your mind, like you're having some kind of internal war with yourself. Don't you think as well, Hannah?" he asked as they both turned to find Hannah sound asleep.

"Look Praze, anyone would have stuff on their mind during what's been going on – not to mention I don't even have my scale," she replied. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"Well, if you say so," he said, shutting his eyes and resting his head up against the couch once more. For a moment they were still and silent, neither of them saying anything up until they heard the knock on the door. "I wonder who that is..." he thought aloud, watching as Sym walked over to the door and opened it to find the faces of Silva and Ace.

"How are we all?" Silva asked as he and Ace walked inside, Sym shutting the door behind them.

"We've all been wondering where you were," Praze began. "Especially Viri, he was pretty annoyed when you two just up and left."

"You're one to talk – you took the lead," Sym interjected.

"And how was I to know that you would all follow suit?" he returned tiredly.

"Well, we're here now, so where's Viri?" Silva asked.

"He said something earlier about going for a walk with River," Praze told him.

"River?" Ace questioned.

"The one who owns this place," Sym answered. "And also happens to be Viri's long-lost friend."

"Wait, so she's a Night-Fury?" he asked.

"Yeah," Praze answered. "Basically his mate."

"Why did I not know this?"

"You ran off. That's why. Could've found out at the same time as the rest of us otherwise," Praze told him. "It was really quite a shock, actually."

"Yeah, Viri's face was priceless," Sym murmured, her lips curved into a slight smile. "Anyway, enough of all this. I think we should all follow Hannah's example and get ourselves some rest." All eyes turned to see her sleeping peacefully, already in a deep sleep.

_She must have no energy – and no wonder, _Praze thought before he spoke up. "Yeah, I doubt we'll see Viri or River anytime soon, so let's just all get some rest."

"Good idea, but whereabouts?" Silva asked. "This isn't exactly our home..."

Praze then turned to Sym and said, "I'll take them somewhere, you get some rest, Sym."

"Alrighty then, I'll leave it up to you," she said as she let out a yawn. "Goodnight all, I better move Hannah back to her room, too. Otherwise, she'll end up with a bad neck." At that, Praze was reminded of the ever-present crick in his neck, making him frown as he stretched it. He let out a sigh of discontent before jumping to his feet and turning to Silva and Ace.

"Alrighty, let's go then," he told them and after a few moments, they were out the door and gone, leaving only an unconscious Hannah and tired Sym.

"Honestly, Han," Sym muttered as she walked over to her. "I'm never going to be able to stop worrying about you."

* * *

Meanwhile, on their way out into the forest, Praze, Silva, and Ace trudged their way there under the light of the moon as a brisk, cold wind began to blow.

"So where is this place you're taking us to, Praze?" Ace asked, watching as Praze rubbed his neck and stretched it various ways.

"Firstly, I'll just clarify that this is just somewhere in the forest – neither a house nor inn – so, naturally, we won't be sleeping as humans," he told her and Silva smiled.

"Thank goodness, I was tiring pretty quickly of this body, I need ti change back for a while," he said and Ace chimed in.

"I agree – but what about Viri?" she asked. "He hardly changes back nowadays, I don't understand how he can deal with it."

_I'm willing to bet he's in his original form right now_, Praze mused to himself. "Some people just like it more that others."

"Anyway Praze," Silva began. "This is the first time the three of us have been alone together since we went to that Decree base. I've been wanting to ask you something..."

"Oh, yeah? Go ahead."

"Well... I just want to know why your story back on Amicus three or so years ago was so inconsistent with the truth," he said, watching as Praze turned back to him with a sigh. Ace, too, listened in.

"Well..." he trailed off, stopping. "I was partly lying to myself, Toothless. I didn't want to face the truth, and I was struggling to cope with some pretty heavy issues at the time. I don't think I can really be blamed for telling the truth those years ago – however before you say anything else – I would like to say that I am sorry for lying to you both, especially after you two both told me your stories. I hope you can forgive me for doing so. I mean... I've only just returned to normal recently, too..."

"And we're glad for that," Silva told him with a smile.

"Of course we forgive you, Praze – I'm just glad that you're okay," Ace told him. "You had me pretty worried for a while, truth be told. You were always distant, but when you grew further and further away from everyone and seemed to just lose yourself a bit... I was really worried."

Praze was going to say something else but decided against it as he smiled. "Thanks, you two. It means a lot to me. I didn't mean to worry you, Ace. Thanks for caring for me."

"You're very welcome," she replied with a smile. "You know, I often think back to the time we had on Amicus... it really was such fun, you know? We really need to go back there some time – maybe when this is all over. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea," Praze said. "There are so many of us now, we could make a trip out of it – even have some sort of competition or something to make things interesting."

"_That_ really does sound fun," Silva commented with a smile. "Anyway, shall we continue along now? We can chat more about it at our campsite, plus I'm getting really, really sick of walking..."

"Weak," Ace stated as she punched him on the shoulder. "I agree, though. Let's get going."

"Sounds good to me," Praze murmured with a smile.

* * *

**A/N**

**Well... this took me forever. Sorry to keep you all waiting, hopefully it was worth the wait. **

**Thanks again for the reviews.**

**QuiteARandomFan: It was cruel indeed. Sym and Praze do seem somewhat cocky, don't they... they really need to control that narcissism a little better. Karma is still to happen, so you'll have to wait and see. However, I've realised I need to speed up the story because I keep getting caught up on oftentimes boring parts. They're not bad and need to be in the story but I think I keep going with them for too long. All that parachuting stuff does sound interesting, by the way. I'll have to look it up sometime. For now, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Ainaines: I'm glad you like him, I hope most people do. Sorry for not updating in a long time, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Sag1ttar1us: Be careful, you might catch a triggering. **

**Mathmonkey167: Thank you! No problemo and it has been very long and I'm certain I replied to this review in our messages at some point. Also... of course taking the scale from the winner (along with many other possible alternative methods) either won't be as much for, or perhaps there was benefits to be had from Praze and Sym competing... maybe a chance to train and compete against tough opponents? Maybe just a chance to prove themselves and have a little fun. It does sound very logical, though. **

**I suppose getting better is always a side effect of doing anything over a long period of time haha.**

**That's it this time. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you all wish me luck in writing future chapters faster. Have a good one.**


	41. Part Three: Rhapsody (5)

**Part Three - #5 Rhapsody**

* * *

One week later, the tournament sign-ups had opened. They were open the whole day, from early in the morning until sundown. Praze had figured most people would sign up around midday then so on until the sign-ups closed, so he and Sym both rocked up on the dot of daybreak.

"I'm surprised, actually, that so many are here," Praze murmured as he watched the small crowd of people form a messy line.

"_In order to register, we need your name and what sort of weapons you will be using. You must also pay an admission fee of __ten silver coins." _They both listened to the announcer before turning back to one another.

"Are you going to use any weapons?" he asked her.

"Doubtful, I'll just use perception evasion to get past the qualifying match and jump out at the end to defeat the last one," she replied.

"I was going to do the same thing," Praze murmured. "Also, the way it works is that there are a number of matches with about twenty people, then the last one standing from each of those get to move on to the one-on-one stages, right?"

"Yes, that's generally how it works," she replied.

"Huh... I hope we don't get assigned to the same qualifying matches, then," he said. "Though, I think we'll have the option to state that we want to be in separate stages..." he trailed off, turning back to the line they were now a part of. "I'm glad we came early, there are a bit more than I expected but certainly less than there will be later."

"Yeah, this is the best time to sign up," a voice spoke up from behind them, causing the two to turn in surprise. To Sym's surprise, she found herself looking into a familiar pair of red eyes. "Also, please call me Viktor." She raised a brow at that.

"Really... Viktor?" she asked.

"Yeah, please call me Viktor here, Sym," Karma told her, turning to Praze. "And who is this?"

"My brother, Lord Wildberry," she told him, causing Praze to eye her.

"My name is Praze," he corrected her, narrowing his eyes at her. "I figure I know who you are, _Viktor_. I'm glad you told Sym about this tournament, we need to get something very important back. With both of us in it, I really don't see any risk of losing it."

"If you're not accounting for me, of course," Karma told him with a brazen smile. "First place prize is the only reason I'm competing, so I do hope that's not yours."

_Fuck. Why does he want my scale? I figured he'd only want either that ruby for third or the ring with the magic charm on it for second, _Sym thought. "And if it is?" she questioned.

"I wish you the best of luck and I'll see you in the grand final," he told her with a wink. "Though I would be surprised – it's not altogether easy to get one of those things," he added.

"I'd imagine so," Praze spoke up. "What would you do with it? Sell it off to the highest bidder and live a cosy life?" he asked but Karma just smiled.

"Where's the fun in that?" he simply asked before he gestured behind them. "Your turn to sign up. What say we sign up together and get into different blocks? That way we can all make past the qualifying round."

For a second Sym eyed Praze and he understood. "Alright, makes life a little easier I suppose," she murmured and Karma smiled as she stood up to the registration table. "The three of us would like to sign up," she stated.

"Names?" the registrar asked, quill in hand.

"Sym, Praze and Viktor," she answered. "We would like to be placed in separate blocks."

"Sure thing, what weapons will you all be using?" the registrar then asked. "Explosives and ranged weapons are not permitted, nor are poisons. Only short-range melee weapons are allowed."

"I, Sym, will not be using any weapons," she stated and the man looked at her like she'd just blatantly yelled out that she was retarded.

"Do you know what this competition is?" he asked.

"Do you know how to listen?" she retorted blankly and watched as the man sighed and wrote on the paper in front of him.

"I'm Praze and I will not be using any weapons," Praze followed suit. The man let out another sigh.

"And you, I presume you're Viktor? Will you also be using no weapons?" the man asked as Sym turned to look at Karma.

_Surely he will... any normal human doesn't have the strength and heightened senses to compete against anything with a sword of any sort. He doesn't look too old, either, so he doesn't exactly have that much strength as a human, either..._

"Yes, I am Viktor," Karma replied. "I will not be using any weapons either." To that, the registrar simply took off the glasses he was wearing and looked at them all.

"How old are you young people?" he asked slowly, trying to understand what was in front of him. "I don't like signing up three children to something they'll be killed in... but provided you pay your fees we won't keep you from competing."

Sym and Praze shared a look again before she answered, "We're eighteen. Perfectly capable and sane, I can assure you."

"Well then, what about you, young man?" the registrar then asked Karma, who smiled.

"About that age as well, probably closer to nineteen, I'd say," he replied simply before his smile faded and his eyes narrowed. "Are you going to shut up and take our money or are you going to continue sitting there, insensibly judging us by your own pathetic standards? Honestly, the conscience you have is outright hypocrisy given the tournament you're running."

The man was shocked into silence before his agape mouth shut and turned into a frown. "Very well. Your fees?" he then asked, the scowl on his face plain as day. Karma smiled malignly as he walked up to the table and tipped a small pouch of coins out onto the table. Then man picked it up and counted it, putting it into a large sack behind him. "You may leave now," he muttered simply and Karma turned back to Sym, another smile on his face.

"See you tomorrow, Sym," he said. "Make sure you rest up well. And you, too," he added as he turned Praze momentarily before he went on his way. After a moment, Praze had turned to Sym with a brow raised but before she could say anything, the registrar had spoken up again.

"And you two?" he asked as Sym grabbed a small pouch of her own and poured its contents out onto the table.

"That's for the both of us," she told him before both she and Praze turned and left.

"This Karma fellow seems like an interesting individual..." Praze trailed off and Sym turned to him, surprised to find a smile on his face and even more surprised at the next words that came out of his mouth. "I like him."

Sym let out a sigh as she shook her head. "Really? Why? He hardly said anything," she murmured.

"Surely you were thinking it too, Sym," Praze said. "That this registrar guy was being completely ignorant and simple-minded, just seeing us as kids that will probably die crying in the first few seconds?"

She stopped for a moment, thinking about saying something but obviously stopping herself as she let out a sigh. "Okay, I'll admit there was a certain satisfaction to Karma's words, but damn how he is just really irks me for some reason," she muttered.

"How so?" Praze asked.

"I don't know, you would know if you knew him like I do," she said.

"I'm not so sure about that Sym," he told her with a smirk. "I get the feeling that you probably don't understand him as much as you would like to and that's making you feel annoyed."

Sym struggled for a moment to come up with a smart, rational response to refute his conclusion but the only thing that ended up coming out was; "Whatever." His smirk grew as he felt a great satisfaction within himself at figuring her out. "Anyway, there are more pressing things to deal with – such as why the flip does he want my scale? I mean, surely for someone like him the charmed ring would be great but no, for some reason he wants the damn scale. That just makes quite a lot of sense. A damn good amount of sense."

"'Someone like him'?," Praze questioned.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's an assassin or something similar, so something like that would do him well," she told him. "It's just a hunch but I'm pretty sure I'm right."

"I just hope that if you two fight each other and he somehow overpowers you, he won't hurt you," he said but she shook her head.

"No, I don't think it's very likely he'd hurt me any more than what would be required to win," she muttered as they began walking back to River's house. "So, shall we train for the day?"

"Sure thing," he responded. "Let's check in on the others first and let them know what we're doing and that we've signed up. I also wouldn't mind an early lunch before we start training."

"That's a very nonsensical decision," she told him bluntly. "Firstly, we just ate breakfast and secondly, always eat _after _training. That way it's far more satisfying and you can work a lot better."

"Well, okay then, if you say so," Praze murmured as he shrugged his shoulders. "I wonder if Hannah's well enough to train with us a little bit..." he trailed off, thinking aloud.

"Probably not, though at least she can walk now," Sym said. "She's recovering a lot faster now. I just hope she's alright mentally."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about," Praze told her as he stared off into the distance.

"How so?" she asked as he turned back to her.

"I think she's gotten most of it off her chest, I highly doubt we'll see another outburst like what happened last week," he told her before smiling. "Trust me, even if I've only known her a fraction of the time you have, I think she's got a really strong will. Once she commits to something she sees it through, I like that about her."

"Would you like me to tell how incredibly infuriating that can be, Praze?" she then asked, a brow raised. "Allow me to enlighten you. Once, I was in a pretty bad mood, feeling pretty depressed. Okay, maybe not once, but this time Hannah decided to do something about it. Also, this was while we still had no idea how to properly orient. Anyway, I didn't want to eat, train, or learn, I just slept in a dark cave all day and night. So, she fed me something the night before this happened, something that would make me even more drowsy than I would be in the morning, and then in the morning she woke me up to her screaming and yelling about some disaster as she hurried me outside.

"I could barely comprehend anything so I just blindly walked outside, stumbling this way and that, before she jumped me and threw me into this large puddle of mud nearby. Completely disoriented and covered in mud, she then tackled me, reconstructed the both of us to the edge of the nearby lake, and threw me into it. By the time I surfaced, I was still covered in mud, half dead, completely shambolic at this point, only to then get hit in the face by a fish that she'd thrown. And all she said was, '_come on Sym, time for practice_,' before walking off like she hadn't done a thing."

Sym turned to Praze, who had stopped, and watched him immensely trying not to burst out laughing. His hand was over his mouth and he had his eyes closed as he slowly shook his head, his shoulders slightly moving as he internally laughed. To this, Sym only narrowed her eyes at him as her cheeks turned slightly red.

"It is not that funny!" she blurted out, only causing Praze to finally lose it. Sym could only let out a huff as she waited for him to finish.

"That is the _funniest _thing... I have _ever _heard!" he told her, still chuckling.

"Whatever, Praze, but I'll tell you now that her determination really can be quite adamant, _immensely_ so," she said. "So be warned, try not to get her set on anything if you can avoid it."

"I'll keep that in mind but why would you want to? That could be so much fun," he said, _still_ chuckling. "If you incur her wrath then it must be rightfully so. I have no pity for you."

"Better not test me, pal, you'll regret it," she told him with a smirk.

"Save the trash-talk for the tournament, would ya?" Praze told her in kind as they approached the door. "Who do you think'll be here?"

"Who knows? Let's just open the door and find out," she said, opening it and walking inside where they found only Hannah, who was slouched on the couch. She turned to see them enter and gave a smile.

"Well, that was fast," she commented. "The others are already at their meeting now, by the way. Registration go smoothly?"

"Yes it did-" Sym began, only to be cut off by Praze.

"Hannah, I must applaud thee for thine excellence. Thou art the pinnacle to aspire to," he told her, making a short exaggerated bow.

"What is he talking about?" Hannah asked Sym, completely dumbfounded at Praze's behaviour and words. Sym let out a sigh as she put her hand to her forehead.

"He's talking about the time when you threw a fish at my face," she told her.

"Which time?" Hannah asked simply. Praze then clicked his fingers before pointing at her with both arms as he turned to Sym.

"That is classic," he said with a grin.

"Shush," Sym said as she pushed him away. "_That_ time."

"Oh, when I woke you up, threw you into the mud and then into the lake before promptly slapping you in the face with a fish?" Hannah then asked and Sym begrudgingly nodded. "Yeah, that was good fun."

"Good fun, she says, Sym," Praze told her, lightly slapping her on the shoulder before turning to Hannah. "I wish I could have seen the look on her face when you told her it was time to practice."

"It's one of my most fond, prized memories of our time together that I will cherish forever," she said with a sigh of content, laying back with her hands behind her head as she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Alright, quit it you two, I've heard enough about that for one day," Sym murmured, her head buried in her hands. She let out a long sigh before looking up again, a weary expression on her face. "Anyway, Han, Praze and I are about to go train for tomorrow, would you like to come with?"

"Sure thing," I've got nothing else to do and it would be nice to get out of this house and get some fresh air," she replied as she stood to her feet. "Whereabouts?"

"Probably some clearing in the forest somewhere," Praze told her.

"Sure you're up for the walk, Han?" Sym asked, only to be met with a smirk.

"Sure am, it's not like I'm so boring that I'd need to be slapped in the face with a fish or anything," she told her with a chuckle as she walked past Sym and out the door. Praze let out a short laugh as he followed suit, leaving Sym there as she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"I'm never going to be allowed to forget that..."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Pertriti, Yoshino and Arc sat at a table with Viri, River, Silva, and Ace in the kitchen mess hall. As the ship was personalized for both Yoshino and Arc, it wasn't all that large, but it housed enough tables to seat about twenty-five – more than enough for most occasions.

"So, the river's waters have receded enough for us to be able to safely passage through to Lanos," Arc began, rolling out a medium-sized map. "Lanos resides about two days upriver, fortunately, it is a port town so we won't need to trek far to get to where we need to go. As soon as the tournament is finished a few days from now, we'll be able to head straight there, then hopefully make port before the end of the week."

"What sort of an economy is there in Lanos?" Silva asked, causing Yoshino to speak up.

"The town is renowned for its hunting prowess, so the furs they produce are the highest quality around," he told him. "Curious about making a new trade route with Berq, perhaps?"

"Yes, actually," Silva replied. "Hiccup mentioned specifically that Berq needs to pick up its fur trade, what do you make of that?"

"Well, Silva, that man has a very respectable business sense," Arc told him. "Hiccup is smarter than all the Chiefs within the Barbaric Archipelago that I know, I'm often surprised by his aptitude for trading, also. I think he would make a very good merchant. Regardless, he did read the market very well; the price and value of furs – especially higher quality ones – are set to rise tremendously in the near future."

"I see, I think I get a little how it works..." Silva trailed off in thought.

"Maybe, just barely," Arc told him with a smile. "Anyway, he did tell me that he wanted you to negotiate trade routes in various towns we visit whilst on this journey, and I think it would be most wise to begin with Lanos."

"Also, you wouldn't want to both with here," River spoke up. "There's nothing worth trading overseas in Kyoraan – the only thing we're known for is the Sword's Song."

"Not to mention all of the countries I've visited and observed – I'm surprised Hiccup didn't ask me to do it, Silva," Viri told him.

"You can be my advisor, then, I'm pretty certain you know more about the world than I do – but I'm also pretty certain Arc and Yoshino know the most out of anyone," Silva replied with a smile.

"Glad you think so, we've certainly put in the effort," Yoshino told him.

"I suppose I don't have to do much until we reach Lanos, then," Silva then murmured as he stretched. "The only work that needs to be done here will be done by Sym and Praze."

"Don't forget that we may not find what we're looking for in Lanos, it's only a scrap of information the Sym could find," Arc told him. "However, a lead is a lead. I doubt the Decree's main base will be located there, as I'm sure it's either located much deeper inland or further out at sea."

"Out at sea?" Ace asked. "I thought we concluded that the Decree's main base was somewhere on the mainland?"

"Yeah, I was the one that said that," Viri told her, turning to her. "However I can't be absolutely sure, especially now that I've revised my findings. It would be much more logical to have their base somewhere out at sea, where they can freely transport across the seas – possibly somewhere central to the areas they are trying to influence."

"Viri's right," Yoshino said. "What the Decree have been doing mainly this past few years is limiting the amount of information you can find on Night Furies whilst also distributing false information and stories, trying to rally people to commit genocide and kill every last one of you."

"What I don't get is _why_ this whole thing was started in the first place – who could have been wronged so badly that they could justify the extinction of a species?" Ace asked.

"We've not a clue," Silva told her. "Remember what I told you about Drago? He had been attacked by dragons in the days of false alphas, and so wanted revenge upon those who caused him pain. It was justified to him, it doesn't matter if it was right or wrong. That's what's going on here. We can't know for sure why the Decree are doing this, but it needs to stop. That's why we're here."

"Exactly," Viri said. "If we can just find out the problem this main instigator – N'vara – has with us Night Furies, we may be able to prevent more unnecessary killing. That includes humans, as well. If this turns out to be something we cannot reason with, we will have no choice but to take those people down."

"I agree with Viri," River said. "Violence and death can only spread more violence and death – this harsh cycle is the reality of this world, but it needs to be broken for the sake of peace."

"That's the ideal situation," Arc murmured. "But sometimes things don't work out like that and we'll just have to do whatever is necessary to restore balance."

* * *

The table set up in the town square had been churning through hopeful competitors all day, with the sack behind the few stalls growing larger and larger. One man noticed them as he walked up to the table, ready to register.

"I'm surprised that no one has stolen these sacks of coin," he told the registrar, who simply smiled up at him as he looked him over. The man was wearing a gray cloak that didn't do much to conceal his tall height and broad shoulders – but he wouldn't have been called burly. He had a meek strength about him as he watched the registrar through the strands of his black hair.

"I assume you've seen the prizes, right? What is here in these sacks is merely chump change in comparison to those – no one wants to steal them and lose their chance at getting one of these once-in-a-lifetime items," the registrar said. "Now, are you registering? What is your name?"

"Luka."

"Alright, what weapons will you be using during the tournament?" the registrar then asked.

"Just this," the man replied, holding out a small short sword.

"No problem – your entrance fee?"

"Right here," the man replied, handing him a small pouch.

"Thank you very much," the registrar said after he'd counted up the coins. "Qualifying rounds begin one hour after dawn."

After that, the man simply smiled and walked away.

* * *

It was a slight trek to get through the woods to the small mountainous area to the left of Kyoraan, however, it didn't seem too much an issue for Hannah in spite of her atrophied, weakened state. The journey took them less than an hour, taking them no time at all to find the small ravine they were currently situated in. There was a small waterfall coming from the top of a large cliff, falling into a trickling river below. There was a clearing by the river, almost perfect for training in, whilst there still being a fair few trees nearby that indicated the edge of the forest.

"My, haven't we stumbled upon such a nice place?" Hannah thought aloud, watching intently as Praze deftly jumped from rock to rock on the other side of the narrow river.

"Stumbled upon? Hardly," he scoffed. "I'm just naturally gifted at finding such suitable places."

"Right, right," Sym murmured. "Now, are we going to practice or what?"

"Sure thing," Praze replied, jumping over the river and back to the clearing. "Rules?"

"No abilities, try not to hit too hard because we don't want to incapacitate ourselves before we even compete, take care not to use any pressure points, either," she said and he nodded. "They'll be useful no doubt, just not here. No point, really."

"Alrighty, let's commence, then," Praze said before they both began as Hannah watched from afar. She was sitting on a log nearby and steadily grew encompassed by what was occurring before her.

It was like watching a dance – a dance performed by masters of the art built through years and years of training. She was fixated on them – is what she'd like to say – but she was more focused on Praze. They way he was moving, dodging this was and that, fast and precise yet ever so gracefully. It was truly a sight to behold. She had to admit that Sym's movements were better than his, yet for some reason, she couldn't stop focusing on how he would attack and defend, trying to imagine what was going through his head.

Then she saw the smile on their faces, watching as they continued on, the fight beginning more and more like that of two children play-fighting even though it was anything but. And a smile grew on her own face.

To see them like they were now was truly a pleasure.

* * *

After returning back to the house, the three of them ate lunch without a care for much else before rushing back on out again before anyone could stop them. The day was perfect – it was cool, with gray clouds that populated the sky and kept the sun out, yet without raining – perfect in Sym's opinion. Praze and Hannah agreed.

After a short amount of time, they had made it back to the clearing. Their travel time was shorter; a little under half an hour, now that they knew their destination. Before long the two had resumed their fight, stomachs full enough to give plenty of energy, with Hannah laying down with her back up against the closest tree as she continued to watch their dance.

Whilst she watched, a feeling was growing inside of her. An incredible feeling, like that of the thrill of being a part of the battle itself, yet not. Without a doubt, she was the happiest she had been in weeks and she still had no idea why. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She knew that seeing them together again and full of such spirit was something that filled her with gladness. She felt she had found the _real _Sym she had been looking for all those years, the Sym that was whole with herself and without such a detrimental mentality. She had a lot to thank Praze for – and it certainly wasn't just for helping Sym find herself again. She hadn't realised it until recently, but she had become quite close to him.

_It's nice to have more than one close friend, I don't have to put up with Sym all the time,_ she thought to herself with a smile as she watched Praze pin Sym to the ground.

"What are you gonna do?" he goaded, a cheeky grin on his face. One that quickly faded as she wrapped her legs around his neck and pulled herself up whilst simultaneously throwing him to the ground.

"That," she muttered simply, smiling as he coughed, slowly pulling himself up. "Whew, it's nearly night already?"

"Yeah, we should head back now," Hannah spoke up as she walked over to them. "Good fights, by the way. I wish I could've joined in a little, I'll be able to soon enough."

"Yeah, that sucks, I still haven't seen you fight yet," Praze told her. "She good?" he then asked Sym as he turned to her.

"If not better than me," Sym replied with a smile. "Let's get going."

"Sounds good to me," he replied as they made their way back through the forest.

* * *

Not long after they returned, they met up with the others, including Arc and Yoshino, and had a short discussion about the meeting they had earlier that day. It didn't take too long and before they knew it, they'd had dinner and were in their beds, trying to sleep. Praze had thought it best they slept at River's that night, just so they could get up and head over to the tournament easily. It was also better to stay together and have a filling breakfast before leaving, which is what River had said. They'd all agreed and before long were off to get a good night's sleep... only to not. At least, only for Praze, who laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to coax himself to sleep. To no avail.

There was simply too much to think about.

_Damn it,_ he thought as he got out of his bed and went downstairs, careful not to make a sound. _I'm never going to get to sleep feeling all giddy-_

"Can't sleep, either?" a quiet voice drifted from across the room. "Neither can I," Hannah said as she laid back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

"I can't stop thinking," Praze told her as he sat down next to her. There was silence for a bit before Hannah spoke up, turning to him.

"You want to go for a walk?" she asked, pausing for a moment for him to think.

"Sure," he told her before they both stood up and walked outside. "Where to? Just through the forest?"

"Ever since we got here I've wanted to check out that mountain over there," she told him, pointing to a mountain that seemed to be a very long way away.

"Hannah, that's way too far away-" he began but found himself cut off as she grabbed onto him, and suddenly he found himself that the top of the mountain. "Well, that's one way of going about it," he murmured as he watched her walk over to the edge and sit down. She turned back to him and gestured for him to sit next to her, which he did after a moment. "This isn't exactly a walk now, is it?"

"Shush, isn't this view beautiful?" she asked and he stopped and turned. From where they were, they could see the huge forest that was Kyoraan's pride; Ruvenheim forest, as well as the street lights of the port town. Not to mention the stars that glistened down from above, lighting up the night sky dot by dot. For a second Praze simply breathed the fresh night air, reveling in its wonderful smell before his smile turned into a frown and he sighed.

"It still doesn't calm my mind enough right now... I mean, what if we end up getting knocked out of the competition somehow, or if one of us gets hurt?" he asked. "I just don't know what to do Han, I feel confident but these doubts just keep coming back, no matter how irrational."

"Just let things be as they are," she murmured softly as she turned to him. "You don't have to be in control of everything, Praze. Have a little more faith in yourself. I believe in you."

He turned to her, surprised at her words. "Hannah-" he began, only to be cut off by the look in her eye.

"Everything will turn out fine," she told him, a smile in the corner of her mouth as she simply grabbed his shirt. "Trust me." After that, in one swift motion, she pulled him towards him and pressed her lips to his.

* * *

**A/N**

**Well. It finally happened.**

**WOW, that has to be the fastest I have written a chapter this long in a _long_ time. I think all of you will have something to appreciate about this chapter. Thanks for reading, please leave a review and let me know what you thought.**

**Sun Fury: Unfortunately at the moment I've got other things to focus on than Toothless and Ace specifically, but I promise they're not just being pushed to the side. It'll come. And thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story.**

**QuiteARandomFan: I'm glad it was a treat to read, your reviews are a treat to read, my friend. I do suppose their cockiness does make them interesting and fun to read at times, but I wouldn't cal it a defining feature. And I wonder, do you like River? I haven't elaborated much on her character and was hoping I didn't need to too much. I'm also glad to hear that you don't find these parts boring, I do try and make the story flow as much as possible. It does give me room to expand on the characters, though, you're right, and is the whole reason I do it. I guess the people who can't bear that won't get the full experience and miss out. Karma is indeed going to be appearing more, don't you worry. I have a feeling you like him...**

**Thank you for finding the story interesting, and the luck you wished me has produced this chapter. Wish me more! Thanks for your review, see ya in the next. **

**Sag1ttar1us: Of all people, the random that'll probably get hit in the face with a cleaver or something, is the one you're interested in? Get your priorities straight. Don't get too hyped for Sym, though. Her halo killing-spree may not live up to the expectation, but it'll certainly do better than No Man's Sky _if you know what I mean_. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know you enjoyed that last bit.**

**mathmonkey167: Hello! Thanks, I appreciate it. Excited for Praze and Hannah you say? The dream may not be such a dream anymore... And heartbreak? Between Sym and Karma? That's an interesting thought you have there :)**

**Thanks for your continued support, I wouldn't have made it this far without you :) I want to thank _you_ for sticking with this.**

**Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts and opinions, I hope you all have a good one. See you in the next one.**


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